Newtown's Feedback Needed by the Distribution Committee of the Sandy Hook School Support Fund

Dear Fellow Community Members,

As members of the Distribution Committee of the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, we have the responsibility to solicit input from the public as to the on-going needs of all of those who have been impacted by the 12/14 tragedy. This input is necessary in order to make well informed funding recommendations. We conducted a similar survey this time last year and the results of that were used by our committee to fund several initiatives including becoming the primary funder in the community of out-of-pocket costs for mental health and wellness services associated with the tragedy. In addition funds were used to support training for all staff in the school district on Youth Mental Health First Aid and to sponsor community events and workshops on trauma and grief with those most impacted by the tragedy and the community at large. For more detail on funding to date please visit www.nshcf.org.

In an effort to continue to solicit feedback from as many people impacted as possible we have again developed a brief on-line survey to help assess on-going needs, challenges, and strengths in our community. So that we may measure against the benchmark data from the first survey conducted last year, we have kept those questions the same. New questions have been added through our collaborative work with other groups in the community, including the Recovery & Resiliency Team. We ask that you please take 10 minutes before February 6^th to fill out this survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/nshcf2015) so that your voice can be heard and we can get as accurate a picture as possible of the needs and feelings in the community. The survey is completely voluntary and anonymous. Our goal is to reach as many people as we can so we hope we can count on you to help encourage your friends and neighbors to fill it out as well.

Each of us are members of this community. While we share perspectives from victims, survivors, teachers, police officers, fire fighters, parents, clergy, and the community in general, we are relying on your input as well. We hope you will join our efforts and complete this survey today.

With appreciation,

Members of the Distribution Committee of the Sandy Hook School Support Fund

Addie Sandler, Bob Schmidt, Chris McDonnell (chair), Connie Sullivan, Gavin Arneth, Jennifer Clark, Joeline Wruck (vice chair), Kevin Cragin, Dr. Robert Bazuro, Rev. Rob Morris, and Scott Ruszczyk

 

Image source: Newtown Sandy Hook Community Foundation