10.27 Healing Partnership to continue its essential work
No one in Western Pennsylvania will forget Oct. 27, 2018. Eleven lives were lost in a synagogue mass shooting that targeted Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life* Or L’Simcha Congregation. Hundreds of more lives were affected. The 10.27 Healing Partnership, at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, supports many of them. It provides mental health services (both individual and group therapy), spreads community awareness and commemorates the event.
Originally, the group received funding from a federal Antiterrorism Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant from the Pennsylvania Commission for Crime and Delinquency. That grant is set to expire in September. This week, however, the partnership announced plans to continue operations through 2028.
After reaching out to family members of the 11 who were lost that day, survivors of the attack, constituents from the affected congregations, and the Jewish community at-large, the 10.27 Healing Partnership started to transition to a broader funding base that will allow it to continue.
“I am grateful that the 10.27 Healing Partnership is seeking to stay open for another five years, as we all will continue our healing journey after the trial is over,” said Andrea Wedner, a survivor of the shooting and a member of the project’s steering committee.
Over the last five years, the organization has provided thousands of therapeutic sessions and hundreds of community presentations. It’s online efforts have reached tens of thousands of people.
Carol Black, who lost her brother, Richard Gottfired, in the shooting, credits the project with helping her find her voice as an advocate against antisemitism and hatred. The 10.27 Healing Partnership supported her for years with counseling services, and it continues to honor her brother’s memory.
Members of the 10.27 Healing Partnership do not limit their work to those affected by the 2018 event. It also coordinates “Families Bridging Kindness,” a group of survivors and victims’ families that reach out to communities nationwide also affected by hate-based incidents of mass violence, including Charleston, Parkland, and Jersey City. Other efforts are underway.
The 10.27 Healing Partnership has worked with a myriad of organizations on trauma-informed therapeutic services and programming, including Circle of Life community center and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Anyone is welcome to walk into its offices in the JCC; the 10.27 Healing Partnership is committed to helping all members of this community work through collective trauma.
The long-delayed trial of the man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history will begin in late April.
“The next few months are likely to be particularly challenging and retraumatizing for our community,” said Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership. “We want to be loud and clear: the 10.27 Healing Partnership is here for the community and plans to be here for the next five years.”
That’s good news for a still-grieving community.