Fellow NVCP Members,

This has been a sad time for our region, as memorial services conclude for the twelve individuals who died in the tragedy at the Washington Navy Yard.

Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and loved ones of those who lost their lives.  As we know, at least three of the victims lived in Northern Virginia, and these losses create ripple effects throughout a community.  If you are a member and have been affected by this incident in any way, please know that we want to help and encourage you to reach out to us or to your colleagues.

As a group of professionals who specialize in helping people to cope with trauma and loss, we would like to reach out to our community to let them know that help is available.  In the past, I know many of you responded by helping after the Pentagon was attached on September 11.  I know some were also interested in taking political action after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT.  We are a group that wants to be involved and available to our community, and this is a time when we can make a powerful and positive impact.

Although we hope that our services would not be needed in the future, we realistically know that pain and loss are an inevitable part of life, whether inflicted by individuals, groups or natural disasters.  We would like to create resources both for the community and for professionals that would help to guide our actions and quicken our response time for future events.  We would be very interested in starting a committee with this purpose, and in developing a list of individuals who may be willing to donate their time or provide specific services to individuals affected by this and other tragedies.

We want to assure you that you can count on the support of VACP and NVCP, so please call on us as needs arise and if there is any way we can be of assistance as we all look to cope with and respond to this event. Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering for these efforts by emailing me directly at  president@nv-cp.org.

Amy R. Heard-Davison, PhD
President, NVCP