Fairfield, Iowa was struck by tragedy this November after Nohema Graber was allegedly murdered by two high school students. Fairfield High School was already grieving that fall, as two weeks prior a student took their own life by suicide.
Wanting to help during this time of need, the Iowa Center for School Mental Health reached out to offer their post-crisis services to the community.
The following is an excerpt from the We Are Iowa article:
For the Trojans, processing these traumas came on top of stressors related to navigating the pandemic, which is why the Iowa Center for School Mental Health reached out to help. The center is a partnership between the University of Iowa's Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Education.
"They set up meetings with our students," said Knoll. "And they had class meetings, and they did such a phenomenal job."
Alissa Doobay, the director of Clinical Services for the Iowa Center for School Mental Health, said her team could see right away why their services were necessary.
"A lot of people were feeling pretty isolated and alone in their experiences, or maybe questioning, you know, is it normal that I'm feeling this way."
While dealing with the murder and suicide, students and staff had the chance to confront other issues they may not have realized they were struggling with.