A Survivor Helps Other Survivors Process The Horrors Of The Las Vegas Mass Shooting
For Shiva Ghaed the outdoor Route 91 Harvest country music festival one year ago was to be the capstone of a fun girlfriends' weekend in Las Vegas. But it became a struggle for survival when automatic weapons fire on the crowd began killing concert goers.
In the days after the shooting, Ghaed, a clinical psychologist whose work includes treating veterans with PTSD, realized there were few services available for survivors dealing with the trauma of a mass shooting. So, one week after the shooting, she began leading a support group for survivors.
That support group has met most Mondays since the mass shooting. Its last meeting will be tonight, on the one year anniversary.
A beautiful evening
At first, the evening of the concert was unfoldingIt was a beautiful night. It was sort of the perfect temperature: not too hot, not too hot," she recalls. "Wewere all standing around just socializing."
