TREMONTON, Utah — Many were seen wiping away tears, and heads were in the hands of Tremonton residents during Sunday night’s community healing meeting at the Tremonton West Stake Center.
“We've seen lots of tears this week,” said Jeffrey Denning, a mental health counselor with First Responders First.
It comes just one week after two officers — Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada — were shot and killed.
“I've been here all week trying to help. A lot of the first responders are affected deeply,” Denning said. “This has really hit home and been devastating.”
Denning works with a lot of first responders and their family members after a tragedy, but this time, there is a personal tie.
“I know some of the officers who have been injured and who have died, and it's just heart-wrenching, and my heart goes out to them,” he said.
Residents got the chance to meet with mental health and peer counselors, as well as police officers from neighboring communities to help with the grieving process.
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Denning said there are a lot of behaviors he sees in communities after tragic events happen.
“A lot more anxiety and worry — worry for what's going to happen when our expectations are one way and the reality is something else. We sometimes tend to become a little bit more hyper-vigilant of waiting for the next bad thing to occur,” he said. "These are isolated events, and that's not the norm.”
He encourages residents to go to community events or talk to someone, because social support is one of the most important things during times of tragedy.
If you can’t go to community events, however, there are still ways to help with the grieving process.
“The things that people can do if they don't want to talk to somebody or open up or go out in public, because there is a natural withdrawal at times to isolate, is to maybe write, to kind of vent, journaling, and just getting out your emotions and feeling that way. There's a lot of evidence showing that that can be very therapeutic and cathartic for the healing process,” Denning said.
Due to the impact of this tragedy, however, services aren’t going away any time soon.
“This is unusual, and we have been here all week, and we're going to be here several more days — and not just that, several more weeks,” Denning said.
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More mental health resources:
- For any mental health crisis: Call 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- For non-crisis emotional support: Call Utah Warm Line 1-833-SPEAKUT or 801-587-1055 (local)
- For fast, free, face-to-face crisis response: Call Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) 988 or 801-587-3000 (local)
- For secure elevation and stabilization: Call HMHI Receiving Center 801-587-7988
