For survivors of gun violence loss
If your loved one was killed by a gun — in a mass shooting, a domestic violence incident, a robbery, a suicide, an accident — you are not alone, and there are people who have walked this road. Some of them I have walked it with.
A note from Angela
This page exists because I have been a survivor of gun violence loss for most of my life. I know what it is to grow up in the after of a sentence that does not have a logical end. I know the particular shape of this grief — how it tangles with shock, with anger, with the unfinished story of who he was about to become and who I was about to know.
In the years since, I have worked with women carrying this loss, and I have been honored to contribute to a survivor toolkit with the team at GIFFORDS, the gun violence prevention organization founded by Gabrielle Giffords. The resources on this page are the ones I would press into your hand if you were sitting across from me.
If you are newly bereaved, take this slowly. None of it is required. Some of it might help on a day you cannot find the door.
— Angela
Where to begin
A toolkit built by survivors, and a clinical method built for the kind of grief gun violence leaves.
By GIFFORDS and Survivors Empowered
A practical, sober guide for the days, weeks, and years after a shooting. Covers the immediate logistics — what to do when you get the call, how to navigate media, how to ask for time at work — and the longer arc of grief, advocacy, and finding your people. Co-created with Sandy and Lonnie Phillips of Survivors Empowered, whose daughter Jessi was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. I contributed to this with the GIFFORDS team.
Open the toolkit →Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle · Homicide Support Project
A short-term, evidence-based therapy designed specifically for the bereaved after a violent death. Dr. Edward (Ted) Rynearson developed this approach for survivors carrying the layered trauma that follows violent loss — the intrusive imagery, the unresolved story, the way the violence keeps interrupting the grief. I trained in Restorative Retelling with Dr. Rynearson, and I use elements of his framework in my own work with survivors.
Read the treatment manual →Survivor-led organizations
Most of these were founded by survivors themselves. They speak the language of after.
Survivor-founded nonprofit
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips founded this after their daughter was killed at Aurora. They run Rapid Response teams that show up for the newly bereaved, in person, anywhere in the U.S.
Visit →Survivor network
Founded in 1978 by parents whose daughter was killed. Chapters across the U.S., court accompaniment, parole-hearing support — for families navigating the criminal justice system alongside their grief.
Visit →Advocacy & resources
Founded by Gabrielle Giffords after she survived being shot in 2011. Beyond the policy work, they publish resources for survivors and support a national community.
Visit →Survivor-led advocacy
The oldest gun violence prevention organization in the U.S., survivor-led. Brady Legal has won $70M+ for victims and survivors.
Visit →Survivor-founded nonprofit
Founded by family members of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Runs school violence-prevention programs and supports impacted communities.
Visit →Research & data
Sometimes the path forward is having the language of evidence at hand.
Research database
A nonpartisan academic database of 2,000+ studies on gun violence. White papers, fact sheets, and the data behind the advocacy — useful if you ever decide your grief wants to go somewhere.
Visit →Policy research
Legal research and policy analysis on gun violence prevention. State-by-state data, court tracking, and white papers grounded in survivor advocacy.
Visit →Clinical support for traumatic loss
Violent loss is its own clinical landscape — complicated grief, traumatic stress, and the body memory of a phone call you cannot un-take. These are the methods and providers I respect.
Clinician profile
Clinical professor of psychiatry, founder of the Violent Loss Bereavement Society, and the originator of Restorative Retelling. His writing is the foundation of how I think about violent loss.
Visit →Victim advocacy & crisis
Since 1975. Crisis response teams, training for advocates, a national helpline. Often the bridge between the immediate logistics and the long work of grief.
Visit →Work with Angela
I work 1:1 with women carrying traumatic loss — gun violence, suicide, sudden death, homicide — using EMDR, somatic, and attachment-informed approaches. Licensed in CA, WA, AZ.
Learn more →You are welcome in my free community, or you can book an initial conversation. There is no urgency. Whenever, however, is right.
Join the community Book an initial conversation