A Circle of Healing: How Community Trauma Affects Locations

When the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora reopened almost a year after the 2012 shooting, it impacted the community in so many different ways. The reopening triggered some members of the community, but for others, it served as a step in their healing process. 

As King Soopers reopened at the Table Mesa location in Boulder on Feb. 9, almost a year after the shooting at the store, it’s going to impact the community in many different ways. 

Heather Dearman, CEO of the 7/20 Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded after the Aurora theater shooting, looks at the reopening in a positive light.

“We are not going to let evil win,” Dearman said. “We are going to reopen and we are going to stay here.”

Dearman’s cousin, Ashley Moser, was shot in the Aurora shooting and left paralyzed. Moser lost her baby that she was pregnant with at the time of the shooting as well as her 6-year-old daughter, Veronica. 

When the March 22, 2021 shooting happened at King Soopers, 35 miles from the Aurora theater, Dearman found herself falling right back into that grief.

“The fact that it was Boulder and it was so close to us, I think that myself and others in the survivor community were hit really hard,” Dearman said. “It was almost to where you are in that grief space longer and in that frame of mine of, ‘I can’t believe it happened again and in our state.’”

With the history of mass traumatic events like these occurring in Colorado, Dearman stressed the importance of acknowledging the difference between individual and community trauma. 

“It’s really hard, it makes me cry even right now,” Dearman said. “Every loss is tragic no matter what happened and the circumstances. However, there’s a whole other element to having a tragedy that is massive and in the media. You’re living in a fish bowl and everyone is watching you with their eyes on you, wondering how you’re doing and grieving.” 

While there are events that can resurface trauma and grief, Dearman believes a great amount of healing comes from advocating for the community.

“I just don’t even have the words to explain how healing it is and how it continues to be healing,” Dearman said. “Because our community has been through something so tragic and when another community goes through another tragic event, we are able to outreach to them and show them some sign of comfort that they are not alone. It’s healing in and of itself. It’s like a circle of healing. It’s just a powerful thing to be able to give back and see how the community rallies around one another in every different city that it happens in.”

Ross Taylor, photographer and assistant professor of journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder, also strives to let people in the community know that they are not alone in their grief through his upcoming portrait series. 

Taylor created a series of photographs of those who were impacted by the King Soopers shooting. The series is open to the public starting Feb. 18 at the Museum of Boulder as part of the Boulder Strong project. The museum will also preserve flowers and stuffed animals from the scene. 

“It’s complicated, but at root, it’s an effort to help others see and hear each other,” Taylor said. “What I mean by that is when people experience trauma, I think it’s a natural feeling to sometimes feel alone. And yet, when we see others going through a similar experience, it can help mitigate that.”

Taylor’s portrait series primarily includes photographs of individuals such as the assistant manager of King Soopers, a cellist who played for multiple days at the memorial site and many others. According to the Museum of Boulder, the goal of this project is to serve as a therapeutic act of bringing the community together through documentary. 

“It can promote an aspect of healing,” Taylor said. “I think people are, I wouldn’t say happy, but I think some people are relieved to some degree, to know that they are not alone. And they see each other. There’s a lightness that’s attached to it that helps combat a lot of the darkness from that day.”