Hello again everyone. I want to start by thanking everyone who came and said hello at the Western Cup registration evening. It was great to see so many people, and hopefully you all had a fantastic time at your events. Only some will have been successful in terms of awards, but remember success is also about how you played the games, and the friendships that you made along the way.
To be honest, I am finding it tough to come up with something for this article following the tragic events of April 15th in Brentwood. As you probably know, five young adults were all stabbed to death at a house party, and we mourn the loss of Lawrence Hong, Joshua Hunter, Kaiti Perras, Zachariah Rathwell and Jordan Segura.
My understanding is that at least a couple of these victims were associated with the LGBTQ community. My heart goes out to the families and friends of these individuals who were inexplicably taken so suddenly. As a police officer with two boys around the same age as the alleged offender, I can also relate to the trauma and grief felt by the de Grood family. It was a terrible, tragic event that will take many some considerable time to recover from, if ever.
Perhaps this would be a good time to remind you of an article I wrote last year about the Victim Assistance Support Team. The Calgary Police Service Victim Assistance Support Team (VAST) promotes and advocates the rights and entitlements of victims of crime and trauma. VAST provides assistance to both primary victims (persons who have experienced direct injury, loss or trauma) and secondary victims (those who are impacted by the repercussion of a crime or trauma including witnesses, friends, family and co-workers).
To lessen the effects of a traumatic incident, VAST provides non-judgmental emotional support, a listening ear and practical assistance to victims of crime or tragedy.
VAST has been a source of support to thousands of victims of crime and tragedy in Calgary since 1977. Their role is to reduce the impact that may be felt from experiencing a crime or tragic event. Victim Support Advocates (volunteers) provide telephone contact with victims of personal crime or tragedy to offer case and court information and updates, emotional support and referrals to community agencies for counseling and bereavement. Services are provided free of charge.
I strongly urge anyone who has been negatively impacted by the events in Brentwood to seek the help and assistance that they need. Trust me, it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help, and I will personally help in any way that I can. Feel free to contact me in the usual manner.
In the meantime, please stay safe and take care of each other. I will speak to you next month when, hopefully, there will be happier things to report.
