"Help one person at a time…start with the one nearest you."Mother Theresa
group of people holding hands in the setting sun

About the Battle Creek / Kalamazoo Resiliency Project

kalamazoo community meeting of rememberance

The year 2016 was marred by tragedy in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek communities. On February 20, 2016, six people were killed and two were critically injured after a shooter opened fire at three different locations in Kalamazoo County. The victims are Judy Brown, Barb Hawthorne, Mary (“Mac”) Nye, Mary Jo Nye, Rich Smith, and Tyler Smith. The survivors are Tiana Carruthers and Abigail Kopf.

Less than four months later, five cyclists were killed and four were critically injured, when a motorist struck the riders. The victims are Debbie Bradley, Melissa Ann Fevig-Hughes, Tony Nelson, Larry Paulik, and Suzanne Sippel. The survivors are Paul Gobble, Shelia Jeske, Jennifer Johnson, and Paul Runnels.

Criminal mass violence leave victims with serious physical and emotional wounds. It also challenges government officials and communities to respond immediately with appropriate efforts. Victim assistance and compensation providers face the daunting task of coordinating effective and timely responses, providing information and assistance to victims, and working closely with other agencies and victim service organizations.

In August of 2016, a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime and expert in identifying the needs of a community following a mass casualty, evaluated the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek communities to assess the impact of these events. It was the consultant’s opinion that our communities would benefit from the provision of additional assistance for the victims, survivors, witnesses, first responders and community members affected by these attacks.

Based on the consultant’s recommendation, a Grant was approved by the Crime Victims Services Commission and provided to the Battle Creek Community Foundation as the fiscal agent. This Grant is designed to supplement the available resources and services of entities responding to acts of mass violence.

The Grant supports the position of the Victim Advocate, Aleena Robinson. Ms. Robinson is available to support all the victims, witnesses, survivors, first responders and community members affected by the tragedies of February 20, and June 7, 2016.