CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are going to Texas to assist families after 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde Tuesday.
Josh Holland, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, said the organization is sending chaplains who are trained to help in moments of crisis.
"We are sending our crisis-trained chaplains to comfort people, listen and cry with them and share God's love with those who have been impacted by this horrific tragedy," Holland said.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team's chaplains are now serving five locations worldwide, including Ukraine and Poland, where they're serving at Samaritan's Purse field hospitals for refugees and victims in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
For parents who are trying to find ways to help their children understand what happened, a Charlotte-based child psychologist says it's important for parents to process their own emotions first. From there, the focus should be on reassuring children of their safety and security.
“To ask any questions and talk about their feelings and have their feelings validated when they have some big questions," Joy Granetz said. "It's also important for parents to keep their answers developmentally appropriate, so that you don't get too much in the weeds of the details the kids aren't able to process."
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