Like you, I am struggling this week with how process another round of unbearable violence. August is traditionally a time to share news from our work on behalf of children healing from trauma and helping them have healthier lives. Instead, as this new school year begins, we are confronted with stories of children adding bullet-proof backpacks to their list of school supplies.
In decades of working with domestic violence survivors, my message to our national family is the same as the one I have shared countless times with survivors of violence: This is not normal. There are ways to get help.
It is hard to mention the unspeakable. But we must. Talk to your children, in ways that are developmentally appropriate, letting them know it is ok to ask questions about tragic events, and sharing the ways in which you and other trusted adults keep them safe. And talk to your policymakers, in ways they can no longer ignore, to demand action.
We can start with reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban, which was enacted into law in 1994, and expired in 2004. Contact your Senator here. Stand with the 90 percent of Americans who support universal background checks for all gun sales, and elect lawmakers who will take action. We must remove weapons of mass destruction from our schools, our streets, our houses of worship, and all of our public places, and get to work healing the deep societal wounds they have produced.
Here at Futures, we will continue our work in preventing domestic violence, which is a factor in the lives of a disproportionate number of those who commit mass shootings. And we will deepen our understanding of healthier ways to raise our boys into men. As California Governor Gavin Newsom says, gender must be part of the conversation, for it "goes deeply to the values that we tend to hold dear--power, dominance, aggression, over empathy, care and collaboration."
And there is no overlooking the connection between the rising tide of hatred and white nationalism that dehumanizes entire communities. Here are our our resources to guide that conversation.
I often say that movements are made of moments. This is an agonizing moment, yet it will not stop us in our work. It only deepens our sense of urgency.
With respect,
Esta Soler





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