Lewiston counseling center copes with grief over mass shootings

Danielle Parent, director of the Maine Resiliency Center, right, talks to the Sun Journal on Oct. 10 about what the past year has been like for her and her crew, while Ruby Bean, director of resource development for community concepts, listens. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

When When the Maine Resiliency Center opened its doors 19 days after the mass shooting, some of the people who came in had just left their homes for the first time since Oct. 25.

In a time of uncertainty and grief, the center provided a safe place for survivors, witnesses, victims’ family and friends, first responders – anyone in the community affected by the shooting.

“It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced. I learned so much about love and grief and life after grief,” said Monica Linder, one of the Advocate Navigators who works with guests at the center.

Over the past year, the center has become an important resource for more than 400 people, whether for weekly support groups, learning coping strategies or getting help finding a counselor.

It is a place where they can “talk about their experiences, how the trauma or traumatic grief is affecting them, and learn from others that they are not alone and that they are reacting normally to a very unusual event.” “There were problems in our community,” said Danielle Parent, the center’s director.

The center is operated by Community Concepts Inc., which worked with the city of Lewiston, the state and other partners to open the space. The city and the Maine Attorney General’s Office will cover the costs of operating the center and will be reimbursed through a federal grant from the Counterterrorism and Emergency Response Program.

This grant, which is still in the application process, will fund the center for 27 months and ensure it remains open at least until early 2026. Parent said that could be extended and Community Concepts wants it to stay open permanently.

The center features meeting areas with couches and comfortable chairs donated by local businesses, a children’s area with toys and art supplies, and other spaces where people can gather and socialize. Artworks cover the wall. One wall is dedicated to the selection of cards, pictures and signs that people have sent in support of the community.

For Tammy Asselin, who was at the bowling alley with her daughter, the center was an anchor to process her grief and trauma. It helped her to talk to people who understood what happened and who shared many of the same feelings, she said.

“It’s amazing to know how similar our paths are, like we originally went through something different and maybe we’re here for different reasons, but our journeys are very similar,” Asselin said.

The center will be open for at least another year, but over time the resources offered may change to meet people where they are in their recovery process. Parent said it will continue to be important to have a place where people can come together and understand that it’s OK that they’re not feeling well.

“Things will continue to happen in people’s lives that will affect the course of healing from their trauma. We will experience new births. There will be new deaths,” she said. “There will be life events like weddings, there will be holidays, and there will be events like the commission – all of which add layers and change the course of this trauma healing.”

This story is part of an ongoing collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and Maine Public, which includes an upcoming documentary film. It is supported by FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

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