Southport attack: ‘It’s okay to feel scared, to be angry’, says Resilience Hub expert

25 children were at the holiday club when the Southport attack happened – most of whom will now need expert help to deal with the trauma.

Earlier we spoke to Jenni Willbourn, who is the Clinical Lead at the Manchester Resilience Hub, an NHS mental health service for people affected by the Manchester Arena bombing.

Jenni Willbourn: Absolutely. So Manchester’s had its share of tragedies and whilst each situation is unique, the links with our arena attack here is that we had children and families impacted, and that impact is really significant because when children turn to their parents for support and we’ve got parents that are also directly impacted, that has an impact on the whole family, on the whole community, on our schools and on the lives of our children.

Jackie Long: And for people to feel a wide range of emotions, we have seen, obviously, grief here. People are devastated for the families. But they’re fearful as well, and some people are angry.

Jenni Willbourn: We’d expect to see a range of emotions, that’s really normal. It’s okay for this to have an impact. It’s okay to feel scared. It’s okay to not know what you feel. It’s okay to be upset. It’s okay to be angry. It’s about understanding that everybody’s journey is going to be different. There’s no right or wrong reaction. We would expect to see people’s sleep impacted. We’d expect to see children feeling really clingy at the moment. We’d expect to see parents really concerned about leaving their children. We’d expect to see people in wider communities, the things they thought were safe are no longer safe, and anything is okay because this is really significant.

Jackie Long: And what sort of practical help can be offered to people who are going through this?

Jenni Willbourn: In the short term, we’d really be looking at community support. We know the community is rallying and that’s really, really important. For peer support, for families to support each other, for the community to support each other. And then for lots of people, that will settle down in the next few weeks. If there isn’t, there are going to be support offers available and people need to reach out for that support. So one of our learnings from the arena attack is the earlier people reach out for support, the better their recovery and the support will be there for people.

Jackie Long: And just a few tips if you like, or words of advice, for people who understandably will be feeling despair at this point.

Jenni Willbourn: To be kind to yourself, to understand this has a ripple effect. As you said, both from those significantly, indirectly impacted, out into the communities and wider communities. Being mindful of really practical things like what are you watching on the media, is that age appropriate for your children? All the things that you can put in place, particularly for children, to instill a sense of hope, to reassure them that the world is a safe place. As I said, if they need to get in bed with you, if they need lots of cuddles, all of that is absolutely fine. But if you’re a parent providing that support, to be really aware that you’re going to feel that impact too, and that you need a support system around you and that it’s okay to reach out for support.