This is two lives clipped into one as Instagram cut us off•••••・・Part 1:  Bridget @beautybyb____  and I took some time to discuss a local tragedy that occurred a few weeks ago in our community.  A teenage boy was murdered at a Halloween party in a senseless attack. It’s so important that adults begin the process of healing themselves so that they are stable foundations for the kids. This world is heavy for the grown ups…I can only imagine what it feels like for the kids.  Time to step up and help this generation!Part 2: find on @beautybyb____ page as IG cut us off.Sharing Katey McPhersons powerful post 🙏🏽Trigger warning: suicide, violence Last weekend, a perfect storm hit our community.Something that has less than a 1% chance of happening did.Two young lives were lost 24 hours apart.One to an on campus suicide, one to violence.I sat with District leaders, eyes red and raw, parents themselves trying to understand how did we get here?One of those lives was taken by senseless, reckless, violence fueled by harassment, intimidation, drugs, alcohol, and social media. I have been ringing alarm bells about all of these things for 17 years and they all showed up with an open invite at the same Halloween party. I have received over 50 text messages from worried parents, furious parents, heartbroken parents asking what we can do. Asking how can this happen HERE? I hate to break it to you all but it has been happening here for a long time.Parties are not new. Teens gathering at parties that grow bigger is not new. Alcohol is not new. Social media dehumanizing and desensitizing our kids, not new. Drugs and their access and extreme potency, not new.It is time to get really REAL. With yourself. With ourselves, And as a community.I will say what I say to every audience I speak to: A community and school are only as safe as the kids feel welcome, and in particular our boys.When kids are engaged with HEALTHY, CARING, TRUSTED adults, they thrive. Just because you live in a $2 million dollar house and your parents post you on Facebook playing club soccer doesn’t mean you’re thriving. It actually may mean the opposite.There is an old African passage that says: “ A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel it’s warmth.”Well folks, this place is on fire.Many of us are caring trusted adults. And kids overall are inherently good, this I believe. What happened last weekend signals the unfortunate reality that some of them don’t have healthy relationships and are really hurting. In turn, turning on our community at large. The incident that occurred was not boys pushing and shoving gone wrong. It was a targeted, senseless, brutal attack with no regard for human life. There is no question about that. This is not new behavior for these children. Preston was just who they chose that particular night. It could have been my daughter or your son. Easily.We all need to get real clear about how WE as a community feel about that and what comes next?Stand by? Dig in? Stand up? Hide? Go fetal?I watched video footage as HUNDREDS of kids exited the party, phones in the air recording whatever they could. I listened as the police chief said only 1 call came in about the assault as it was in progress. ONE CALL. Yet hundreds of phones yards away. If we want our kids to be brave, we have to be brave. If we want our kids to Connect and Support 🙏🏽✨💙Instagram: @saveourchildrenpodcastBridget: @beautybyb____Becky: @becky_standbysurvivorsWebsite: www.standbysurvivors.com