How much can one community handle?

Mourning continues to surround Parkland, Florida as two survivors of last year’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School take their own lives.

Sydney Aiello, who graduated in from Stoneman Douglas in 2018, committed suicide last week.

The former student was a survivor of the massacre that took place on Valentine’s day of 2018 in the hands of gunman Nicholas Cruz, which killed 14 students and 3 teachers.

As a result of her experience, Aiello suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and survivor’s guilt, according to her mother, which are now being used as supposed reasons for her suicide.

On Saturday, an unnamed Sophomore student also lost their life from an apparent suicide. However, enough details have not been released to determine if their passing was related to last year’s shooting.

Junior Ricky Wallert shares, “having just had friends die, they are going to be in a completely different mental state. It makes sense that there would be suicides after such a traumatic event. I don’t think it’s the school’s fault at all”

Fellow Junior Jenna Boguslavsky also agrees that “it’s not the school’s fault. I think its the fault of the government for not having better gun control laws and letting such a tragedy happen in the first place.”

Even eerier, on Monday, Jeremy Richman, a 49-year old father whose young daughter, Avielle, was killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting of 2012, was found dead after an apparent suicide.

Such recent events emphasize the need to discuss mental health and the lasting impacts of emotional trauma.

Mental health experts have encouraged parents, friends and loved ones to monitor one another, looking especially for changes in behavior.

We must all not be afraid to address and discuss mental health in order to overcome its stigma and truly heal from such tragedy.