The number of respondents may not be sufficient to render a new community wide survey on post 12/14 concerns and attitudes "statistically significant," but its author told The Newtown Bee its results clearly support anecdotal information being related to a number of crisis response and mental health providers serving Newtown since the tragedy.

The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation released the results of its latest anonymous survey conducted from January 22 through February 13. The survey was disseminated through Newtown Public Schools, Town offices, The Newtown Bee, and those on the foundations internal distribution database.

Its author and Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Barahona said the survey generated 999 responses. It focused on better understanding the strengths of the community, what has been helpful in the 12/14 recovery, what barriers or challenges remain, and what impact the tragedy continues to have on various segments of the community. 

"It's not intended (as) our be-all answer, but it helps inform our decision-making process about what and where the needs are," Ms Barahona said. "It also explains to the community what we do, and describes our front line work."

According to the report, a majority of respondents are feeling like the community is strong, moving in a positive direction, and that there are opportunities to connect and participate in volunteer activities.

There also remains, however, a good deal of stress, anxiety, fear, worry, and anger that is directly related to 12/14.

"It certainly reinforces what we suspected all along - a tiered system of impact, and how people are, or are not seeking help," Ms Barahona said.

According to findings, some respondents who are predominantly outside of the Sandy Hook Elementary School community say they have persistent feelings of guilt, reluctance to discuss how the tragedy has impacted them, and lack awareness of services available in the community to assist.

This has created a level of suffering in silence or guilt by individuals who do not feel as if they should be struggling or have a right to reach out for help because they were not as directly impacted as someone else.

Ms Barahona said while the idea some are judging that one person in the community is or is not "as impacted," as another is troubling - clinically, she understands why people may think that way.

"It's really hard in one victim category to see someone else's. But people need to look through the lens of the teachers, the victims, and the survivors," she said. "As (trauma psychologist Kevin Becker) said when he visited, perceived threat is just as powerful as actual threat."

Ms Barahona said just because someone was not in direct proximity to the incident, or the school community, or a victim, doesn't mean when they are feeling traumatized they can simply "just get over it."

“With the recent announcement of a ten-year spend-down plan of the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, the foundation will be focused on helping the community with what it calls ‘Four important C’s’ — compassion, communication, coordination, and collaboration,” Ms Barahona said.

She described both the collective and individual emotions of the community like a complex onion being peeled back layer by layer, with some angst or trauma being revealed and dealt with early-on, while others internalizing their reactions to the shooting may find themselves experiencing post traumatic effects months, years or decades later.

Days before the report was released, Ms Barahona attended a workshop with 9/11 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) victims. "Some of these people experiencing PTSD are just coming forward now for the first time, 13 years later," she said.

Ms Barahona said today and in the weeks, months and years to come, it is critically important for community members to have patience with one another. She said there is no pre-set time frame during which PTSD can develop, and that there is no cookie-cutter process to identify and treat individuals based on their proximity or sensitivity to the event.

Report Details

This year’s survey drew 634 fewer responses than last year’s survey. Offered during a similar timeframe in 2014, the first survey generated 1,633 responses. Of those who responded this year, 35 percent indicated they had taken the 2014 survey.

The remaining 65 percent were equally divided between those who had not taken the survey last year and those who did not remember if they had taken it or not. Of those responding, 45 percent said they live within Sandy Hook, 38 percent are residents of Newtown, and 17 percent were from other locations.

In response to the question “What is the source of your greatest connection in the community,” an overwhelming 70 percent answered friends and family. Additional options included neighbors, religious or spiritual institution, school system, social activities in the community, social/sports/school activities for my child(ren), volunteer work/civic engagement, work/employment, and other.

It was understood by the Distribution Committee, they clarified in their report, that “this survey represents only a small percentage of this overall community. Input is continuously sought through ongoing dialogue with community groups and individuals.”

In response to the statement “I feel the Newtown/Sandy Hook community is moving forward in a positive direction in its recovery from the 12/14 tragedy,” 46 percent of those participating responded that the statement was Somewhat True, 36 percent responded Very True, 10 percent were Neutral, 6 percent responded Somewhat Untrue, and 2 percent responded Very Untrue.

In response to the statement “I feel there should be community forums or public meetings to discuss concerns and community wide development strategies,” 34 percent responded Very True, 31 percent felt this was Somewhat True, 29 percent were neutral, 4 percent said Somewhat Untrue, and 2 percent responded Very Untrue.

Encouraging Results

The foundation took what it felt was a proactive step in May 2014, when it helped organize an event called Community Connection. Held at Walnut Hill Church in Bethel, the event hosted Dr Becker as its keynote speaker.

An internationally recognized consultant to communities experiencing “psychological trauma and crisis,” the report said, Dr Becker “generously allowed his remarks to be recorded in order to be shared throughout the community.” 

The committee continues to urge “every community member to take time to listen to Dr Becker address the issue of fracturing and how our community can become stronger and more resilient by focusing on our collective shared experiences and similarities rather than our unique differences.”

(Dr Becker’s address is online at vimeo.com/97246759)

The Distribution Community stated that “the group reporting the most guilt and those lacking awareness of resources were parents who have children enrolled in Newtown schools, followed closely by ‘concerned members of the community,’ and then parents of students enrolled at Sandy Hook Elementary School.”

Many areas of the survey, the report states, “had very encouraging results.”

While many respondents reported feeling “a good deal of stress, anxiety, fear, worry, and anger that is directly related to 12/14 … the majority of those that have sought help for related issues report that treatment has been effective,” the report states.

The majority of respondents also reported feeling like the community is strong, moving in a positive direction, and that there are opportunities to connect and participate in volunteer activities. In response to the statement “I feel more connected to my community when I participate in some volunteer, service or social activity,” 54 percent of the respondents answered Very True.

In response to the statement “I have participated in community events and/or activities over the past year,” 38 percent said this was Somewhat True. 

Narrative Comments

More than 200 people wrote in narrative comments about the events that resonated the most with them. Events or groups that were repeatedly mentioned included the art festival and other cultural events, Ben’s Bells, Ben’s Lighthouse, Christmas tree lightings, events and activities at the Resiliency Center of Newtown, the Labor Day Parade, the May 2014 Community Connections event, runs/5Ks; and miscellaneous events including Free Movie Nights, activities at NYA, festivals, parades, fundraisers, and memorial events.

The survey also asked respondents to talk about why they might not have participated in activities. On this question, 49.5 percent said “felt like program was not for me but someone more impacted.”

For this question, 89 people offered comments in addition to their selected answers. These ranged, according to the Community Assessment Report, from scheduling difficulties, lack of awareness of activities/events, and a desire to “move on” or have non-tragedy-related events, to a perceived lack of trust and transparency with leaders, and concerns over “political” or predetermined “agendas.”

The survey results indicate, according to the committee, “a desire to return to the same cohesiveness experienced by the community immediately following the tragedy.”

To achieve that, the committee suggests four steps that need to “be embraced in both philosophy and action by all members and leaders of the community.”

These include acknowledgement that everyone should focus on “The Four Cs” Ms Barahona mentioned (compassion, communication, coordination, and collaboration); recognition that everyone in the community is capable of long-term psychological impact, and that those who are suffering in silence need to reach out for help; a “collective understanding” that the entire community has been impacted, and that working with each other instead of against each other will result in better long-term care; and “tolerance and acceptance of the different ways in which people continue to recover without judgment.”

To date, the foundation's Distribution Committee has been focused on using the resources of the Sandy Hook School Support Fund to assist individuals and the community as a whole based on continuous public input and research into best practices post-tragedy. A listing of funding to date from the Sandy Hook School Support Fund is available on the foundation’s website, nshcf.org.

That funding has included supporting individual out-of-pocket mental health and wellness costs, two rounds of grant funding to support programs working to strengthen individuals and the community, and events aimed at providing opportunities for groups to learn, share, and connect with one another.

A full copy of the report is available on the foundation’s website, nshcf.org. Committee members, as well as executive director Jennifer Barahona, are available to meet with individuals and small groups on an ongoing basis to solicit additional feedback.

Contact Ms Barahona at 203-460-0687 or jbarahona@nshcf.org to arrange a meeting.