David Taber
Web Exclusive
Community reponse has been swift to a Nov. 21 knife and gun fight at 662 Centre St.’s Same Old Place pizza shop that left the three participants dead and another woman, who was not involved in the fight, wounded.
Boston’s Public Health Commission is offering “trauma response” services for people who are struggling in the aftermath of the brutal public assault, and for people who were close to the victims. People interested in seeking those services can call 534-2662, public health officials told the Gazette.
“We offer services to those individuals who feel like they might benefit from some support, either through helping them find resources in the community that might help them deal with a traumatic event, or by giving them advice for understanding what they and their families are going through,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the Public Health Commission, told the Gazette.
The First Baptist Church at 663 Centre St plans to host a Silent Prayer Vigil for an End to Violence on the church’s front lawn Nov. 24 at 8 p.m., First Baptist Pastor Ashlee Wiest-Laird said in an e-mail.
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) plans to host a “town hall” meeting about community response to the triple murder at its Nov. 30 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church. Police and public officials are expected to attend the meeting and take questions from the community, JPNC chair Andrea Howley told the Gazette.
The local non-profit Spontaneous Celebrations has set up a bank account at Mount Washington Bank at 515 Centre St to help the victims’ families pay for funeral costs, according to a flyer produced by the community group Neighbors for Neighbors.