NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - For Chanda Coston, it all started with a conversation she had with a mother who didn't know what to do.
“She expressed some concerns that she wasn’t getting the support she felt like she and her family needed," Coston recalled to News 3.
She says the woman's daughter was in the classroom on January 6, when police say a six-year-old boy shot a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School. The trauma from that day is still fresh, the mother told Coston, and she felt returning to the school for counseling would be too hard for her child.
Enter The HEB Foundation; an organization founded by Coston and her family in honor of her brother Raghib Brooks, who was shot and killed in 2018. The nonprofit holds events to reach children most likely to be affected by gun violence.
“The children will continue to be victims, or they’ll go off and be offenders," said Coston of her foundation's mission.
In response to what happened at Richneck, on Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11, The HEB Foundation is hosting a "Camp Healing" for the community. The free event will be held at Stevens Memorial Baptist Church — not even a mile from the school.
It's two days of therapeutic activities to help children address their trauma in a healthy way and find healing.
“They’re surrounded by licensed counselors and therapists, but they have an opportunity to basically express themselves through art projects and tasks," said Coston of the event. “From there, we transition into group talk. Group talk is very similar where they actually get to talk about their feelings.”
In August, the nonprofit was called to hold something similar in Uvalde, Texas, where, three months prior, a gunman shot and killed 19 students and two teachers inside Robb Elementary School.
"We had 57 kids show up," Coston recalled.
But, overall, she says the mental health support was much more effective and efficient in Texas, compared to Newport News, where her foundation is based.
She believes more should be done to help Richneck children — and their parents — who may be struggling.
“These children were in what was supposed to be a safe setting," said Coston. "We want to equip their mothers and fathers, or guardians, with tools so they can understand, if they see a behavior being displayed, how to react to it.”
Again, Camp Healing is free and food will be provided both days. There's space for 50 students, but Coston insists that number can be expanded if enough people sign up.
For signup information and itineraries, click HERE.
