Dora Hernandez’s face twists into a distorted expression when describing what she lived through with her 23-year-old daughter and her friend at the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade — where a man shot close to 80 times from a rooftop at a crowd of parade-goers last week, killing seven people and wounding dozens more.
“It’s difficult to assimilate,” she said. “I still can’t believe what happened.”
When the shooting began, the three Highland Park women quickly ran back into the Walker Bros. restaurant, where they had just shared laughs while eating breakfast. This time, they were there seeking shelter from the gunfire, along with others.
Hernandez didn’t know if “the bad person” was also going to run inside the establishment to hunt people down. It was terrifying, she said.
“My daughter was so strong; she was helping me and others find hiding places,” Hernandez said. “But now she’s crying a lot, and has been having stomach pain.”
Hernandez was one of about 50 people who attended a bilingual question-and-answer session at the Highland Park Public Library Thursday seeking assistance and resources.
The meeting was organized by city officials who were made aware by groups that work with the large Latinx community in Highland Park and its surrounding areas, that Spanish-speaking families were not receiving information the city has been disseminating on resources being offered by agencies and health providers to those affected by the mass shooting.
The impromptu gathering aimed to address those barriers, said Highland Park Councilman Andrés Tapia, who acted as the translator for Mayor Nancy Rotering and Police Chief Lou Jogmen.
“We are one community,” Tapia said.
The meeting’s format allowed Jogmen to give a play-by-play of the events that day, and an update on the criminal investigation. When he said he was proud of his team for the work they had done, the audience burst into applause in agreement.
Rotering said the city would work to break language barriers with the assistance and partnership of local organizations and agencies Spanish-speaking families already know and trust, such as the Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and the Highwood Public Library, which are also offering their clients assistance and tailored services.
“Together as a community we will find the strength to move forward; one community in solidarity,” Rotering said.
One of the issues identified as a communication barrier is a button on the city’s webpage that translates into many languages the information pertaining to what available resources there are for victims.
It’s inconspicuous, Rotering said, adding she didn’t know about the button or its function.
Tapia said language and cultural differences are a reality, “So we have to make sure that our communications and outreach and networks are inclusive.
“The gaps have been there for a long time; we saw it with COVID,” he said. “If we’re not inclusive in the methods of information, then groups that don’t share majority culture and language are going to feel left out and not get the information that’s important.”
At the Highwood Public Library, where a strong connection with Spanish-speaking families is evident from its programming, executive director Carmen Patlan said library personnel immediately shifted to assistance mode after the tragedy.
Some of the library staff had been at the parade and are still reeling from the traumatic experience. Patlan said she’s heard awful stories from both staff and patrons.
“It’s very heart-wrenching to see how fearful children are now and how parents feel helpless,” Patlan said.
The library’s health and equity program, which started four months ago and presents patrons with talks on physical and mental health, has shifted a bit to include trauma support groups and therapy sessions, free of charge and in Spanish and English.
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These services will be ongoing and consistent though the weeks and months ahead as residents continue the healing process.
The program’s two social workers lead the support groups Monday through Wednesday. In addition, a partnership with the Nicasa Behavioral Health Services agency allows for individual counseling with a therapist Mondays through Thursdays, Patlan said.
Ana Hernandez is a Highland Park mother of four who plans to take advantage of those resources in her native tongue.
Hernandez and her kids had planned to march at the Fourth of July Parade with the school district. That morning, they were running late to meet the group at the kickoff, so they waited by the train tracks so they could join when the group passed by.
Suddenly there were shots.
“Everyone was running and people were screaming, ‘Run, run for your life,'” Hernandez said. “I still haven’t recovered from that. It’s a type of desperation and impotence you feel; not understanding what’s happening and not knowing whether your kids are going to die in front of you.”
As a mother, she wants to overcome trauma quickly so she can help her children do the same.
“That day felt like the longest day I have ever lived. I wanted it to be over and it felt like it never would be,” she said.
Her 3-year-old didn’t understand what happened. She only knows they ran a lot. But her 12-year-old son and 8-year-old twin girls were very scared and continue to be, she said.
During the gathering at the Highland Park library, Jackie Herrera Girón, chief of victim services at the state’s attorney’s office explained to attendees that by law, victims of any crime can apply to receive funds for their healing process.
Bilingual witness coordinators are available to help people navigate their victim’s rights. Families working on their immigration status may even qualify for U-visas, Girón said.
At that meeting, Patlan also spoke. She said it was important for community members to ask for what they need right now. She said officials are sometimes unaware of those needs, especially when there are cultural and language barriers to consider.