The Metro: Rochester Hills mayor shares mental health resources for splash pad shooting victims
Barnett joined The Metro this week to share his feelings about the tragic incident and how the community is being supported in the aftermath.
As the metro Detroit area continues to cope after Saturday’s mass shooting at a Rochester Hills splash pad, Mayor Bryan K. Barnett says his primary focus is supporting the recovery of the victims.
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Barnett joined The Metro this week to share his feelings about the tragic incident and how the community is being supported in the aftermath. He also recalled how he felt when he got to the scene after the shooting occurred.
“The second I walked up and looked at the splash pad, I just started crying, I couldn’t help myself,” Barnett said. “It’s, you know, who would do this, and then and then there’s, to be very honest with you, there’s a sense of hope and encouragement because you see how people come together, you see first responders that just miraculously understand and can do their jobs.”
Oakland County and Oakland Community Health Network are offering counseling services and other mental health resources through the week for the victims, their families and anyone who was present during the shooting. No appointment needed.
“Our city is strong,” Barnett said. “Our community will not let this incident define us. But I’m confident that our response will define us. And that’s what I’m focused on.”
The shooting occurred just three years after the mass shooting at Oxford High School, located approximately 15 miles north of Rochester Hills in Oakland County. There have been more than 225 mass shootings in the U.S. this year alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
For more information about the mental health services available through OCHN, visit oaklandchn.org.
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Barnett.
More headlines from The Metro on June 17, 2024:
- If you’ve ever had a day in court, you know it can sometimes be a costly process. But, the 36th District Court wants to make it a little less so by hosting a debt amnesty program from June 24 through Aug. 2. The program will waive all late fees, penalties and warrant costs upon full payment of the original amount. To tell us more about the program, 36th District Court Chief Judge William C. McConico joined The Metro.
- Last week, the city of Detroit passed a “Dining with Confidence” ordinance. The new regulation requires restaurants to post red or green color-coded signs on their walls. Green means a restaurant passed the health inspection — red means it didn’t. The regulation is pretty straight forward, but what was interesting about it was that it passed so easily after it was rejected 6-3 when it was proposed two years ago. This time, the ordinance passed in part because of a pilot project run by Chef Phil Jones, a community food specialist with the city of Detroit. To talk about that pilot project and why he thinks the ordinance was successful, Chef Phil Jones joined The Metro.
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