Westroads Assistance Form
The purpose of this webpage is to allow community members access to information and resources.
If you are experiencing difficulties or have had an emotional response to the December 5th Mall shooting please contact us for assistance.
Please click here to access the Westroads Assistance Form
Westroads Response
Disaster behavioral health was deployed in the response phase following the shootings at Westroads Mall on Dec. 5th, 2007. Immediate response activities included the following:
- The American Red Cross was immediately deployed to the Westroads Mall and opened a Family Assistance Center at the Hampton Inn on December 5th;
- Omaha Metro Medical Response System and Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare activated the Medical Reserve Corp through the United Way. Behavioral Health volunteers were sent to the Family Assistance Center;
- The Girls & Boys Town National Crisis Line was activated for crisis response calls and publicized via the media;
- The Spring Center behavioral health phone line was activated and publicized;
- The American Red Cross, Medical Reserve Corp, Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare and Salvation Army were available at the Westroads Mall when it reopened December 7th and 8th, 2007;
- The American Red Cross continued to have licensed mental health professionals available at the Mall throughout the following week;
- A Community Disaster Planning Committee was formed that included 20 local agencies.
Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare developed a community disaster planning committee in the days following the Westroads Mall tragedy. The committee's first goal was to help determine how to address the long term behavioral health needs in the community. The local agencies identified two behavioral health need areas associated with the recovery phase that are not currently funded or available in the community. The first is coordination of outreach efforts to impacted populations. The second is preparation of existing service providers to deliver appropriate individual counseling. Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare was awarded federal funding to meet the local needs and to coordinate the behavioral health response.
Outreach to Impacted Populations
Traditional models of disaster outreach (e.g., going door to door) are not feasible in the wake of this event because the impacted population is large and geographically dispersed. Focused outreach to impacted populations began with three community Town Hall meetings as a way to provide education and promote recovery. One Town Hall meeting took place at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, one of the trauma centers that accepted casualties and injured from the shooting. Two additional community wide Town Hall meetings were offered at Glad Tidings Church and the Holiday Inn Convention Center on December 21 and 22, 2008 respectively. Robin Zagurski and Dennis Snook, local disaster experts, and two national disaster experts, Dr. Robin Gurwitch and Dr. Dan Nelson, both of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, assisted with the Town Hall meetings.
The SERG (SAMHSA Emergency Response Grant) grant has funded or will provide for the following services:
- One full-time position to coordinate outreach efforts and community activities
- Three Town Hall Meetings
- Expansion of the local network of licensed professionals trained to provide disaster therapy utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Training for primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and other medical professionals in “Disaster Psychiatry”
- Training for media on their emotional response to this disaster
This was a traumatic event for people who were in the mall the day of the shooting and those who responded to the scene. The full psychological impact of the event has not been felt. Some will experience longer lasting distress or a delayed reaction that is set off by reminders of the event that may not be anticipated. A few will require professional assistance. The emerging needs will attempt to be met by a combination of services from existing providers and outreach made possible by this grant.