100+ Resources for the Aftermath of the Orlando Mass Shooting Tragedy

By Skyler Jackson, MS (Doctoral Student in Counseling Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park)

On June 12, 2016 rapid gunfire tore through Orlando’s Pulse gay nightclub in an act of violence that jarred the nation—and garnered global attention.

Many were shaken to the core by what we now understand to be the largest mass shooting by a single shooter—and the deadliest incident of violence targeting LGBTQ people—in U.S. history. The numbers alone are staggering: At the time of this blog post, 49 deaths have been confirmed and an additional 53 people were injured during the gunman’s attack at the gay club’s popular Latin night. The facts that have come to light since the event have added chilling detail to our understanding of this tragic event.

When single events of this magnitude occur, we react in a multitude of ways. Many found themselves engulfed in difficult feelings (e.g., panic, anger, grief, fear), and a subsection of these individuals are still emotionally overwhelmed. Others immediately gravitated towards information gathering, fervently consuming the facts of this event. Indeed, in the aftermath of the seemingly incomprehensible, we often find ourselves on a burning quest for clarity and understanding. Another group still was immediately primed for action—ready to reform existing legislation, eager to combat homophobia and toxic masculinity, determined to work to reduce violence and improve human relations. Some simply felt numb, lost, and paralyzed.

Behind these responses are unspoken questions: How could this happen? What can I do? How can I cope? Where do we go from here? No one perspective and no single resource can address each of these inquiries. Fortunately, in the time since the attack, a number of online resources, articles, and videos—some old, and many new—have circulated in relation to the event and its aftermath.

Below is a compilation of over 100 online resources related to the Orlando, FL tragedy. The list is categorized by theme or intended audience, and includes online articles, lesson plans, videos, mental health resources, open letters, tips for clinicians, petitions, hotlines, and more.

The online resources and articles included were selected with great leniency. With the exception of pieces that spread misinformation or prejudice, few articles were intentionally excluded from this curated list. Thus, the 100+ items included vary greatly in quality, tone, and perspective. That said, the list is not comprehensive. It may, however, serve as an organized starting point in our quest for self-reflection, community healing, and ultimately, social change in the aftermath of this devastating event.

NAVIGATING DISTRESS AND COPING

1. How to Cope after a Mass Shooting (English & Español)
2. Responding to the Tragedy in Orlando: Helpful Responses for LGBTQ People and Allies
3. 10 Ways to Support Yourself and the LGBTQ Community in Wake of the Orlando Shooting
4. Recovering Emotionally from Disaster
5. Incidents on Mass Violence – SAMHSA
6. 11 Small Ways to Feel Less Helpless this Week, from a Trained Therapist
7. The Behavioral Health Response to Mass Violence (Webinar)
8. Disaster and Trauma Effects on Parents (PDF)
9. In the Wake of the Orlando Massacre: 7 Ways I Take Care of Myself During Depressive Episodes
10. 13 Soothing Books to Read When Everything Hurts (Intersectional Focus)
11. Tips to Support Individual and Community Healing
12. 4 Self-Care Tips After the Pulse Tragedy

RESPONDING THROUGH GIVING, MOURNING, AND ACTION

13. Nationwide Vigils, Victim Fund Page, and More (English & Español)
14. Support Victims of the Pulse Shooting
15. APA Disaster Resource Network
16. How to Help Orlando Shooting Victims
17. Practical Things Psychology Graduate Students Can Do
18. Donate to the Orlando Youth Alliance (GLBTQ youth serving non-profit)
19. Love Is Love – LGBTQ KidLit Book Donation Drive for the Orlando Youth Alliance
20. Muslims United for Victims of the Pulse Shooting
21. Preventing Gun Violence in 5 Steps
22. Tell Congress: Support Common Sense Measures to Reduce Gun Violence (APA Action Alert) 

ENGAGING IN ALLYSHIP AND INTERCOMMUNITY SOLIDARITY

23. 8 Ways Allies Can Show Up For the Queer Community After Orlando
24. How to Talk to a Queer Person Who is Afraid of Dying
25. An Open Letter to Straight People on the Pulse Massacre
26. Rejecting Islamophobia as a Queer Latina in the Wake of the Orlando Shooting
27. 7 Things Straight People Aren’t Understanding about Orlando
28. Can We Stop Erasing Latinos from the Orlando Massacre Narrative?
29. Learning How to be a Straight Ally after the Orlando Tragedy
30. Mourning on Ramadan: Breaking My Fast With Queer Muslims After the Orlando Shooting
31. Being an Ally in the Wake of Orlando
32. Dalai Lama Warns Against Scapegoating Muslims After Orlando Shooting
33. To My Heterosexual Friends: This Is Why Orlando Hurts
34. Gay Rabbi: We Can All Mourn Orlando, But This Was Terrorism Against Gay People
35. 26 Things Queer People Actually Want to Hear after Orlando
36. In Whitewashing the Pulse Shooting, We Dehumanize the Victims

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS, PARENTS, & YOUTH WORKERS

37. Disaster and Trauma Responses of Children (PDF)
38. Helping Your Child Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting
39. The #Orlando Syllabus (College-level curriculum)
40. Addressing the Orlando Shooting at Your School
41. Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools for All Children & Families
42. 7 Ways to Talk to Children and Youth about the Shootings in Orlando
43. Teaching and Learning Resources – The Attack in Orlando: The Worst Mass Shooting in U.S. History
44. 10 Suggestions when Teaching about Controversial or Difficult Issues
45. How to Talk to Children about Difficult News and Tragedies
46. GLSEN’s Safe Space Kit: Guide to Being an Ally to LGBT Students
47. Safe Learning Environments For LGBTQ Students In A Post-Orlando America
48. The Orlando Shootings: Parents’ Guide to Talking to Children (PDF)
49. Classroom Lesson – Orlando Shooting: A Listening Circle
50. Best Practices: Creating an LGBT-inclusive School Climate
51. How Should Parents Talk to LGBTQ Youth About Orlando?
52. How Teachers and Parents Can Talk to Kids about the Orlando Shootings

RESOURCES FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

53. Effects of Traumatic Stress after Mass Violence, Terror, or Disaster
54. Vicarious Trauma (PDF)
55. Disaster and Trauma Responses of Children (PDF)
56. LGBTQ Youth Related Resources on Trauma and Coping
57. Creating Welcoming & Inclusive Environments for Traumatized LGBTQ Youth (Video)
58. Mental Health Reactions after Disaster: A Fact Sheet for Providers (PDF)
59. LGBT Veteran Care Post-Orlando (PDF)
60. Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals (PDF)

UNDERSTANDING GUN VIOLENCE IN THE U.S. CONTEXT

61. America’s Gun Problem Explained in 18 Charts
62. Gun Violence Prevention
63. Gun Violence: Prediction, Prevention, and Policy – APA Panel of Experts Report
64. Gun Violence and the Psychological Response to Mass Violence (PDF)

PERSPECTIVES THAT CENTER LGBTQ LATINX & MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

65. Latinx LGBTQ Community & Its Stories of Survival Should Be at Center of Orlando Response
66. American Ugliness: Queer and Trans People of Color Say “Not In Our Names”
67. White Queers, This Is a Betrayal
68. The Pulse Nightclub Shooting Robbed the Queer Latinx Community of a Sanctuary
69. Queer Latinx: Tired of Being Targets
70. It’s Not Safe to be a Queer Person of Color in America
71. Responses – Familia Trans Queer Liberation Movement (Video)
72. It’s OK to Let Vulnerability Sink In
73. Do Not Militarize Our Mourning: Orlando and the Ongoing Tragedy Against LGBTSTGNC POC
74. Statement from the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity
75. What Queer Latinos are Saying about the Orlando Shooting
76. From Charleston to Orlando: Reflections on Massacre in a Time of Backlash
77. Queer, Muslim and Unwelcome at the “New Stonewall”
78. Whitewashing the Orlando Shooting Victims Only Makes LGBTQ People of Color More Vulnerable to Violence
79. Here is What LGBT Muslims Want You to Know after the Orlando Shooting
80. To My Fellow QTPOC Mourning the Orlando Pulse Shooting: We Need to Love Each Other
81. Only When I’m Dancing Can I Feel This Free
82. In Honor of Our Dead: Latinx, Queer, Trans, Muslim, Black – We Will Be Free | En Honor a Nuestros Muertos: Latinx, Queer, Trans, Musulmanes, Negros – Seremos Libres
83. “They Are Our Dead”: LGBTQ Latinos Speak Out After Orlando
84. LGBT People of Color Refuse to be Erased after Orlando: ‘We Have to Elbow In’
85. In Praise of Latin Night at the Queer Club
86. Queer Muslims Confront Intersectional Challenges (Video)
87. LGBT Clubs Let Us Embrace Queer Latinidad, Let’s Affirm This
88. How are Latinx and LGBT Leaders Mobilizing in the Wake of Orlando Shootings
89. Among the Orlando Shooting Victims, Trans Latino Advocates Hope Their Stories are Told
90. The Time Two White Gay Men Heckled a Latina at a Pulse Vigil
91. Stuck in the Media Spotlight, LGBT Muslims Often Feel Exploited
92. #SomosOrlando: Latinx LGBTQ+ being Ignored while Simultaneously Killed
93. Orlando’s Gay Latino Community Describes Pulse Nightclub in Their Own Words
94. Joint Statement on the Orlando Mass Shooting – National Latina/o Psychological Association & Orgullo (PDF)
95. Orgullo Statement on the Orlando Mass Shooting (PDF)
96. LGBT People of Color Alienated by San Francisco Pride’s Plan for More Police
97. Meet the Gay Muslims Coming Out After the Orlando Massacre
98. Recognizing the Intersection of Identities in Orlando Mass Shooting
99. What Queer Muslims are Saying about the Orlando Shooting
100. Orlando’s Intersections: May Our Differences Stretch Us to Revolutionary Love
101. LGBTQ Latinxs and Allies Share Heartfelt Messages in Honor of Orlando Shooting Victims

HOTLINES

• DeQH – Desi LGBTQ Helpline for South Asians (Thursdays & Sundays, 8-10pm EST): 908-367-3374
• GLBT National Hotline: 888-843-4564
• GLBT National Youth Talkline (up to age 25): 800-246-7743
• LGBTQ Violence Response Hotline (24 hours everyday): 202-888-7222
• Muslim Youth Hotline (Monday-Friday, 6-9pm): 1-866-Naseeha
• National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (24 hours everyday; English & Spanish): 212-714-1141
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – English (24 hours everyday): 800-273-8255
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – Spanish (24 hours everyday): 888-628-9454
• SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline (Interpretation service for over 150 languages): 800-985-5990
• SAMSHA Disaster Distress Helpline (Hard of hearing and deaf community): 800-846-8517
• SAMHSA Disaster Distress Text Support (English & Spanish): Text TalkWithUs or Hablanos to 66746
• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860 (USA); 877-330-6366 (Canada)
• Trevor Lifeline (National 24-hour suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth): 866-488-7386

 

Biography:

Skyler Jackson, MS, is a diversity consultant and psychologist in training, currently completing his doctoral studies in Counseling Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park. As a scholar, Skyler’s research helps illuminate ways in which contemporary forms of social stigma (e.g., racism, sexism, homophobia) not only have economic, educational, moral, and political implications, but are also important matters of public health. As a diversity consultant, Skyler’s training and facilitation helps to spark personal and community transformation by empowering people to dialogue about issues of identity and difference. He currently resides in Washington DC.

Contact: skyler@umd.edu

Blog Administrator Note:

Posts by guest authors reflect the views and perspectives of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the American Psychological Association.

Image source: Flickr user Andi Weiland via Creative Commons