Mourning is grief gone public. That’s the primary message that Dr. Alan Wilfort had for hundreds in Colorado Springs Tuesday evening when he took the stage for a grief counseling workshop.
Wilfort is a world renowned grief counselor from Fort Collins who was booked in Colorado Springs a year ago and the timing of his visit is pure coincidence.
“When it hits close to home, it makes it so much more real and authentic in terms of what people are experiencing,” said Wilfort. “This is bigger than any individual, you can’t do it on your own.”
Wilfort travels the world speaking as well as working in his Fort Collins center to help give people the tools, direction and instruction needed to move forward after tremendous loss. He says the Colorado Springs community is doing a good job of standing together in the wake of this latest mass shooting, but he hopes that support lasts long into the future too.
“When a community experiences multiple losses naturally it results in a tremendous sense of what happens next and we need to openly talk about and acknowledge any kind of fear because if you don’t that fear becomes bigger,” said Wilfort.
He adds it's important to know grief persists longer than a few days.
Wilfort will also meet with first responders.
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