Fourteen Years After Jessi’s Death: The Question the Courts Never Were Allowed to Answer and the Lives that Might Have Been Impacted
Always remembered, always honored, always loved On July 20, 2012, twelve people, including our daughter, Jessi Redfield Ghawi, were murdered inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Fifty-eight others suffered gunshot wounds, and more were injured while trying to escape the gunfire. Fourteen years later, we remember and honor those who were killed, the survivors, […]
Pride Holds Joy and Grief in the Same Hands
Pride Holds Joy and Grief in the Same Hands Pride Month is a celebration of identity, resilience, and community. It is also a time of remembrance. For many survivors, joy and grief exist side by side. We can celebrate who we are while acknowledging the violence that has shaped so many lives—and recommitting ourselves to […]
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month so it’s a great time to speak honestly about crisis, trauma, and the realities of suicide in the United States. It is impossible to have a serious conversation about mental health in this country without also talking about firearms. Suicide is now one of the leading causes of […]
March Remembrance
We honor and remember the lives lost, those injured, and all who have been forever changed by gun violence in the month of March. While we strive to recognize significant incidents, we know that every name and every story matters. We cannot list every individual affected, but our hearts hold space for all survivors, families, […]
A Moment for Mindfulness
Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. http://survivorsempowered.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/a-moment-for-mindfulness-with-survivors-empowered.mp4 Is it time to breathe fresh air into your life and home? Try this 5-minute Mindfulness Breathing Practice from the Greater Good […]
January doesn’t have to be a sprint
January. We are told that we need to run at full speed as soon as January 1 hits. Be better. Read more. Lose weight. Get organized. But that’s just the commercialization of January 1. Businesses want you to work harder (as if you could!). Buy an exercise bike or a gym membership. Eat this and do that. But […]
Protecting Families from Gun Violence: The Overlooked Toll on Children, Teens, and Expectant Mothers
When reports say a child died from a ‘firearm assault,’ it means something horrific — that a child was intentionally shot and killed, most often by a parent or other family member. 68% of children killed by guns are murdered by their parents. That’s what ‘firearm assault’ really means. Domestic violence involving firearms has profound […]
EMDR gains traction treating gun violence survivors
Over the past quarter-century, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has become proven as an effective trauma therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As such, its use in treating gun violence survivors both in the aftermath of tragedy and to help prevent being re-triggered by subsequent events has proven to be a valuable tool. What […]
My healing journey advances with Survivors Empowered Retreats
‘In three decades working with numerous state and national gun violence prevention groups, only Survivors Empowered really saw and understood my trauma. They had skills and tools that helped me onto a path to healing and peace, and made me stronger in my work as an advocate.’ By Gerry HillsGun violence survivor, advocate, and participant […]
Japanese art of kintsugi proves powerful metaphor for Sandy and Lonnie Phillips of Survivors Empowered
‘Broken & Beautiful’ by Wavecrest Films featured at LA film festival “Broken & Beautiful,” a new short documentary produced and directed by Wavecrest Films, chronicles the journey of Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose lives were shattered by the shooting death of their daughter and then rebuilt stronger than ever over the period of a dozen […]