UVALDE, Texas — Wednesday, May 24 marks one year since the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed.
It was a tragedy that rocked the community and for some families, they're just starting their mental health journey.
In the beginning, families were just dealing with the initial shock -- the event itself, the delay, the anger, the grief.
For many families, finding consistent help has been difficult.
Need for help
Uvalde, Texas is a small town of about 15,000 people.
Experts said there had always been a need for mental health help in the community.
"It was nonexistent for the most part," said Monica Gutierrez, a professor at Sul Ross State University that helps counsel students. "It was very very sparse."
On May 24, 2022, that need for mental health help spiked dramatically after a teenage gunman killed 21 people inside an elementary school.
"In Uvalde, we are dealing with a lot of trauma as well as grief," Marian Sokol with the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas said. "It’s so unimaginable."
On the day of the shooting and even the days following, the town was flooded with mental health experts at the civic center. So many people wanted to help the residents of Uvalde, but those affected were still dealing with the initial shock so that initial burst of help faded.
The town was left only with a few that came in to offer help
One of those is the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas. They are helping children ages 3 to 23, their parents and also teachers.
"It’s been difficult," Sokol said. "It’s almost like PTSD experience for those children and families that were right there in those classrooms."
The challenge they face is getting enough counselors to make that hour-and-a-half drive to Uvalde daily.
"It’s difficult to hire certified counselors here that want to stay in Uvalde cause it is somewhat remote, being about 90 minutes from the city," Sokol said.
The school district is facing the same problem.
A local mental health expert and professor said because most of the therapists are from out of town, some people were not getting consistent treatment because they didn’t see the same person every time.
It became frustrating for those who were reaching out for help.
"They say what’s the use. I am going to have to start all over again and all these pertinent questions, I have to keep going through that I have to keep relieving it."
As the town continues to deal with all the trauma and grief, they hope more is done soon to help get that mental health help they so desperately need.
For many the shooting caused a lifetime of pain and anguish that is not an easy fix.
One mother who lost her child in the shooting said she can't begin fixing and healing until she gets some kind of accountability or action from the state.