Omaha Halloween event ended traumatically, community resources available for impacted

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Halloween is supposed to be a fun and festive night. On Monday night, it ended in a traumatic way at an annual trick-or-treating event near Minne Lisa Boulevard and Newport Avenue.

Now in the days following, organizations in the community are coming together to help those impacted.

Project Harmony and Omaha Police are joining together to share resources with parents and families impacted by Monday's event.

The goal is to help normalize the feelings that parents, children and the community may be experiencing.

"Your child or yourself may be irritable. You might have difficulty sleeping. You may think about the event over and over again. You might start to question your safety and things that happened and so these are normal," said Deputy Chief Michele Bang of Project Harmony.

"Reiterate with your child if they are struggling, that these things sometimes happen (and) they don't happen all the time. And there is always going to be people there to help you. Be it the police, or a teacher or another caring adult," Bang said.

Some additional tools Project Harmony recommends for parents with children impacted include:

1. Monitor when you are consuming news about the event.
2. Cuddle with your kids a little extra
3. Help them process the event
4. Reassure your kids about what they did right on that night.

Project Harmony is hosting a community event on Thursday night with Omaha Police. It is from 6-8 p.m. at Minne Lusa Elementary school. It is a free event and is open to any adult who was impacted by Monday's event.

There will be mental health professionals, school counselors, additional tools and information about community resources available.

Project Harmony

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