The Greenwood Park Mall Referral Network is a network of 20 practices that have agreed to offer services at a lower cost to shooting witnesses or family members.
GREENWOOD, Ind. — It’s been a little over a month since a gunman opened fire in Greenwood Park Mallkilling three people before an armed bystander shot down the shooter.
That violence highlighted the need, which already existed, for more mental health services in Johnson County.
A network of counselors is working to help people right now and a new grant through the Johnson County Community Foundation will do even more in the future.
When deadly gunfire erupted at Greenwood Park Mall, Erin Coram’s son and his girlfriend survived the violence.
“That was scary,” Coram said. “They were having dinner in the food court. They were right at the entrance when they started hearing the shots.”
But in the month since then, the lasting trauma hasn’t gone away.
That’s why Coram, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, made sure they got professional help to deal with the effects of that experience.
“If you don’t and you’re repressing these things, it can develop into PTSD and it can develop into some pretty significant traumatic responses,” Coram explained.
That’s also why she formed the Greenwood Park Mall Referral Network.
It’s a network of 20 practices that have agreed to offer lower-cost services, right away, for shooting witnesses or family members. Thirty people have applied for treatment so far. Coran said it is more likely that they accessed the services through the Internet.
“I know the mental health community right now is overwhelmed and getting a mental health therapist is hard. There’s a waiting list. It’s usually expensive if you don’t have insurance. So I asked the counselors: Would you do anything pro bono? Do you do discount rates? Would you make room for these people if they call? Because that’s the most important thing. Don’t make them wait a month or two to get in,” Coram said.
RELATED: Expert: Advice should be considered for those who witnessed the Greenwood Park Mall shooting
The need for more mental health services has been exacerbated by the pandemic. And now, the Johnson County Community Foundation is creating additional resources for the future.
Just days after the shooting, Gail Richards, president and CEO of the JCCF, received a call from Duke Energy.
The company donated $10,000 to a community mental health fund for Johnson County for long-term mental health support.
“They said do it long term and do it now,” Richards explained.
The grant is an investment, meant to grow, that will pay for things like counselors, telehealth options and increased access for people in need, before problems get out of hand.
“I don’t know what the problem was with the gentleman in the mall, I have no idea. But, if people like that had received some kind of intervention sooner, it might have made a difference,” Richards said. “I just think that people are still reluctant to seek help and don’t know where to go. When you’re somehow on the edge of the abyss, sometimes you can’t get back up unless you find someone to turn to. And I think it’s finding that ‘anger'”.
Erin Coram knows the benefits of therapy firsthand.
Now his son and his girlfriend, who suffered trauma at the mall, do too.
She hopes that others will take advantage of the growing resources for help with mental health.
“With the trauma therapies that they are able to receive and the support, the support of the community that they had around them, the family and the community, my son and his girlfriend are doing well,” Coram said. “The problem is that people who don’t have that family and community support get the help they need.”
Click here for more information on the Greenwood Park Mall Referral Network.
