Fourteen beautiful souls were taken from us and countless others were forever scarred on December 2, 2015.
Although two years have gone by since the terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, each day we think about those who are no longer with us, those who are still healing physically and emotionally, and the impact this horrific tragedy has had on our San Bernardino County community.
The grief, the anger and the fear remain. We are still unable to grasp what drives this brand of evil.
On that terrible day, the world reached out to San Bernardino County, offered support, thoughts and prayers. The county community wrapped its arms around our County Government family and comforted us through some very dark times.
On December 2 of this year, we will pay special remembrance to those who are no longer with us – husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, neighbors and co-workers – and honor those who suffer still.
On this second anniversary, the County Environmental Health Services family and the Board of Supervisors are asking the public to join us wherever you may be in a moment of remembrance at 10:55 a.m. on Saturday, December 2. At that time the county will pay tribute to those who were taken from us and the survivors on our Twitter and Facebook platforms, https://twitter.com/SBCounty and https://www.facebook.com/SanBernardinoCounty respectively.
If you fly an American flag at home or business, we ask that you lower your flag to half-staff on Saturday in honor of the lives taken and the lives shattered on that day two years ago.
And we ask that you continue to pray for those who are still healing, and show love and appreciation to your families, friends, and neighbors.
Finally, I am pleased to report that a great deal of progress has been made in creating a permanent December 2 memorial. Under the guidance of a memorial committee headed by Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales and including members of the Environmental Health family, the county is close to selecting a consultant with experience in public arts and memorials to guide and facilitate our search for an artist to design the memorial.
After the tragedy of December 2, I and the other members of the Board of Supervisors vowed to stand together and help our county emerge stronger than ever before. We continue to hold each other up while offering assistance to the growing number of communities across our country who fall victim to this kind of violence and terror. We will never forget. We are SB Strong.
Many continue to struggle from the events of December 2, 2015. Avenues of assistance are available:
- The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, offers a document with information on how to manage stress after a traumatic event: http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA13-4776/SMA13-4776.pdf
- The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline is available to help and support for any distress that you or someone you care about may be feeling related to any disaster, including violence. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. Available 24/7. Spanish speakers text Hablanos to 66746.
- The County Department of Behavioral Health Community Crisis Response Team is a community-based mobile crisis response team for those experiencing a psychiatric emergency. Available 24/7. East Valley: (909) 421-9233, High Desert: (760) 956-2345, West Valley: (909) 458-1517, and Morongo Basin: (760) 499-4429.
- The County Department of Behavioral Health Access Unit provides connections to behavioral health crisis services to all of San Bernardino County as well as member services and access to behavioral health services for all beneficiaries of San Bernardino County Medi-Cal. Available 24/7. (888) 743-1478 or (909) 386-8256.