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Saugus Strong: Healing After The Tragedy That Shook Santa Clarita 

Discussing the effect that the abnormal nature of the 2020 school year had on the wellness of the Santa Clarita community, a special broadcast was held Thursday evening to reflect upon the grief following the Saugus High School shooting.

Eye On The Valley: Saugus Strong

Finding closure and other recent tramas. An open discussion with Matt Watson and Kristina de Bree.

Posted by KHTS Radio on Thursday, June 18, 2020

 

Forged by the combination of two fires in October, the tragedy of the Saugus High School shooting in November, multiple Black Lives Matter protests and much more, the cancelation of classes due to the COVID-19 Safer-At-Home Order left many students and parents without an outlet to cope with the combination of tragedies.

While the community was able to rally together to fundraise for victims’ families as well as hold a candlelight vigil with hundreds of members in attendance before the nationwide shutdown, further memorial events had been limited.

Following the shooting tragedy and the destruction of homes by forest fires in the fall months, this year has involved several other major events that were addressed in the broadcast including the death of Kobe Bryant, the economic crisis as a result of COVID-19, the public viewing of George Floyd’s murder and the devastating effects of police brutality followed by protests and riots across the country, the arrest of Saugus High School substitute teacher and countless other struggles that our community faces individually. 

Matt Watson, father and director of outreach of Santa Clarita Valley International (SCVI) charter school, and Kristina De Bree, licensed marriage and family therapist, broadcast a special KHTS Radio segment on Thursday evening to create a safe space to discuss Santa Clarita’s wellness in regards to the series of hardships the Santa Clarita community has endured in a virtual setting.

Isolated from their classmates who had also endured the tensions created by the Saugus shooting, students were deprived of their ability to confide in the relatability of their classmates as well as the ability to experience a typical senior year.

“Right now we are really locked down and locked in with COVID-19, so our world has become significantly smaller,” said De Bree during the broadcast. “We’re not exposed to many people or experiences and we’re not in environments like theme parks and airports that can trigger traumatic memories, so people may feel like they have dealt with their trauma or have come to terms with it, when down the line they may experience the anniversary effect where all of a sudden they start displaying signs of depression, anxiety and resurged symptoms without knowing why.”

Since it can take about three to six months to really absorb, process and show symptoms of complex traumas, it is recommended that parents and guardians keep note of their child’s behaviors and emotions as their strongest state of grief may be just beginning, according to De Bree. 

“I once gave a talk at one of the local high schools prior to the 2019-2020 school year and the teacher interrupted me by saying ‘we live in the Santa Clarita Valley, our kids don’t really deal with issues that incite depressed thinking,’” said De Bree. “After that class was done, I had five kids from that class come speak with me personally about how they were feeling suicidal.”

With all of the tragedies the year of 2020 has brought Santa Clarita students in addition to their own personal struggles, further discussions are imperative to maintaining the wellness of the Santa Clarita community and its students.

“What’s important for parents to understand is where our kids are at and how they’re starting to process all the different layers of things that are being piled on top of them as we head into the summer and our kids don’t have as much to do and distract themselves with,” said Watson during the broadcast. 

Understanding the heavy toll Saugus High School students’ have endured over the past year, Watson and De Bree then discussed how resolved trauma can be transformed for the betterment of the Santa Clarita community.

“These students possess a unique opportunity to use these experiences for the positive development of our world,” said Watson in an interview before the broadcast had aired. “But first we must recognize that even though these circumstances are too heavy for one of us they can be overcome by all of us when we ban together.”


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Saugus Strong: Healing After The Tragedy That Shook Santa Clarita 

One comment

  1. The parent should’ve had charges brought against her for providing or ignoring the gun collection of a hormonal angry teenager in her home. Could be prevented if you purchase a gun safe and have rules in the household. Who provided the child with the money to purchase the gun and purchase in parts? My heart breaks for the families of the sweet kids that were murdered.

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About Rachel Matta

Born and raised in Santa Clarita, Rachel Matta has always had a love for writing and media. The first time she ever smiled was actually while she was laying next to her mom as she flipped through the pages of a magazine. Upon graduating from high school in 2019, she chose to major in both journalism and political science at College of the Canyons with the intention of concentrating in news reporting. She began her journey at KHTS as a news intern in the summer of 2020 and officially joined the newsroom in the spring of 2021, intending to move forward with compassion and inquisition.