ParklandCares.org Launched after Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After yet another deadly school shooting, grief counseling is available at both at the school and at walk-in facilities around Broward County, FL – but sadly, those efforts are a patchwork. They vary in expertise, duration and effectiveness and there's no way to tell the difference.

That's why organizations and businesses are partnering with South Florida's mental health providers to form ParklandCares.org. The project will be a conduit connecting crisis counseling to students and families affected by the murder of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

This project will not only provide funding to counsel those in its own backyard, but it will create a model that can be used anywhere – "because unless something radically changes in this country, such a tragedy will happen again," says 30-year Parkland resident Howard S. Dvorkin, CPA and Chairman of Debt.com.

ParklandCares.org will provide a long-term, centralized and continuously updated list of resources available to those coping with tragedy. "Once the police are done investigating, and the media is done reporting, the only professionals left behind are the counselors," says Debt.com President Don Silvestri, who lives a mile from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"We plan to support this partnership in any way we can," Dvorkin says.  "This means funding a very substantial amount to pay for the services required to help victims and their families and using our existing staff to help organize efforts.  We plan to fund as much as is needed to make a meaningful and direct impact on the lives of all those affected by this horrific tragedy."

People who wish to help support the effort can visit ParklandCares.org to make a donation. Donations can be a one-time gift or recur monthly, quarterly or annually. Ongoing donations are critical to ensure people can receive the long-term counseling they need.

Current agencies include:

• Bougainvilla House Family Therapy Center
• Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County
• Healing Hearts: Bobby Resciniti Healing Hearts Foundation
• Henderson Behavioral Health, Broward County's largest mental health provider, which services nearly 30,000 patients annually
• Nova Southeastern University Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Program and the Trauma Resolution and Integration Program

As the resource portal develops, other potential partners are encouraged to email [email protected]. 

ABOUT: Parkland Cares mission is to provide immediate and long-term funding and awareness for mental health counseling and programs for shooting survivors, their families and the community at-large, with the goal of becoming a national model for crisis counseling outreach and implementation.

SOURCE Parkland Cares; Debt.com

Related Links

http://ParklandCares.org

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