Remember children in recovery efforts Learning to build some positive energy

Over the past few years, I have watched my community get pounded by disasters; the near flooding of Oroville due to the dam failing in 2017, the Camp Fire in 2018, and the Bear Fire currently burning. I have watched proudly as people selflessly supported one another and met the needs of neighbors and strangers. I am writing to bring attention to the need to offer specific services to the children of our community who are most affected by these events.

I am a student at Chico State and I am researching the effects of disasters on children and what can be done to support them following a disaster.

Children are particularly vulnerable to disasters and the threats they bring. The stress and loss following an event can lead to PTSD, substance use and abuse, and depression in children. Research shows that having a strong support system (family, friends, school, team sports, etc.) offers protection from developing the coping mechanisms listed above.

I would like to see our resilient community put a focused effort into creating a far-reaching “community of caring” to support children’s emotional health following a disaster. As we rebuild and reopen our community, let’s address the physical damage, but also use this chance to build a stronger Butte County with a focus on improving the lives of children and families.

— Rana Marshall, Chico

Chico is a way station of goodness with a charm that binds us together. It’s an oasis I call home. I see our city through a lens of gratitude for those with and without and all of us in between. Do I know anger? Of course I do! Yet, I focus on channeling this energy into actions that build community without tearing it down. I strive to ensure my personal anger doesn’t cause suffering to those around me. I do this by seeing the needs and goodness in people. When I’m too tired to see I walk away.

Myopic anger solidifies when we focuses entirely on the bad, blinding our ability to balance sorrow and pain with the beauty within and adjacent to all things, bright and dark.

People mired in anger are to be grieved, the hardest of all things when you have been attacked by their venomous projections of pain, a pain they’re unable to quench.

Grieving for community members is the grace that binds humanity together. Reach out. Constructive dialogue isn’t possible until you see someone for who they are and accept it. Be the builder and leave your wrecking ball at home.

— Bill Mash, Chico