The start of a New Year is a joyous time for most people, filled with goal setting, excitement, and thoughts of what is to come in the year ahead. For grieving and traumatized individuals, families, and communities who have experienced a horrific event such as ours, the bittersweet reality for many is that the mark of a new year is a mix of conflicting feelings - joy and pain, goals and losses, love and longing. We begin 2020 knowing that this year ahead will bring emotional intensity for the families we work with as the legal process continues, the anniversary of the shooting approaches, and the effects, both damaging and post traumatic growth oriented, of trauma and grief linger. Now more than ever, it is imperative as a mental health support team to unite together and embrace the community effectively. We often post updates about events and programs throughout the community so please continue to check the PU4P Facebook Page for updates and opportunities to volunteer. If you are a trauma-trained therapist and have not already done so, please go through our vetting process (information on how to be vetted is below under “Updates”) to be included in our online directory and our list of vetted therapists for distribution to community agencies. Thank you for all that you do to support the community and for being a part of Professionals United for Parkland.
Program Spotlight Carmen’s Dream
Carmen’s Dream was founded by her loving parents to honor Carmen’s desire to impact the world by finding a cure for ALS. Additionally a scholarship award was created in Carmen’s memory for musicians. From the Carmen’s Dream Website: “After losing two people close to her from ALS she was determined to become a leading medical researcher and discover a cure for this devastating disease. As a family, we have decided to make an initial donation of $5,628.84, Carmen's entire life savings, to create the Carmen Schentrup ALS Research Fund. Any donations made to the fund will go directly to the most promising ALS research through The ALS Association. Please join Carmen and our entire family in the quest to find a cure for ALS by making a donation today. Our hope is that, with enough help from all of you, Carmen’s dream can be achieved. Thank you for your support. – April and Phil Schentrup” “Support Carmen's love of music by donating to the Carmen Schentrup Memorial Award which provides scholarships for other talented musicians. The Carmen Schentrup Memorial Award is sponsored by the Florida Federation of Music Clubs (FFMC), which is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to music and the arts.” For more information, visit: The Carmen Schentrup Memorial Award
PU4P Updates Therapists and Mental Health Practitioners - We are reaching out to you as the board of Professionals United for Parkland.. Since the shooting on February 14th, 2018 we have been working hard to support the community together. We need trauma trained therapists to be on our Vetted Therapists List that we provide to organizations and agencies so they may refer individuals and families. The holidays, the trial, and the anniversary are approaching so we will receive more requests for our list. Soon the grant for individual services should be released and we were asked to send the most updated list. We will be able to send your information for referrals through this collaboration. More than anything, we need to have good quality therapists who have trauma training to offer the community. Your commitment to be on the list is to provide two pro-bonos a year. In exchange, you will be on our online directory (soon to be live on the website). In addition, all the community agencies including Children Services Council, United Way, and Eagles Haven have this list. Professionals United for Parkland is hoping we can add more qualified trauma therapists to our vetted list. If you know of anyone you can share this with, please feel free to share with them. Please send your information to info@pu4p.org to begin or update your vetting for the PU4P list. Don't forget to check our Facebook page for the most current events, updates, and information about PU4P! Thank you for your support of PU4P and your dedication to the Parkland community