AURORA | Corbin Dates was sitting in the second row of Theater 9 during the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012. He escaped the torrent of bullets with only a few burn marks caused by the casings. But as months passed, he began to notice a more permanent, less-obvious wound — one that only surfaces when he’s reminded of the people who were killed that day.
“People always tell me they’re surprised that it didn’t affect me as much,” he said. “But the longer out it gets and the more events I come to, I notice I’m tearing up. It’s like I’m finally getting to the point where it’s time to release it, to cry.”
Dates, 24, attended the opening ceremony of the Aurora Strong Community Resilience Center on July 11. The center’s mission is to help people like Dates recover from traumas in various ways — through art, music, therapy, group counseling and community support. Dates and other victims of the theater shooting say they appreciate the place of healing.
“Anything that allows Aurora to come together to be a stronger community is the best give-back,” Dates said.
All of the services offered at the center will be free. Opening the center a few days before the one-year anniversary of the theater shooting was helpful for people who have not yet sought mental health help because they’re still in shock or denial, said Sherry Nellis, a licensed professional counselor who is stationed at the center full-time.
“The one-year anniversary can stir up a lot of feelings for people, and the grief process for some people can go on for a very long time,” she said. Nellis, an Aurora resident, has been a therapist for more than three decades and has spent the last seven years counseling military members and their families around issues related to post-traumatic stress disorder, grief and relationships.
Victims of the theater shooting have said their experiences must have been similar to those experienced by veterans of wars. Nellis said there’s one big difference.
“The biggest difference is that the military expects it,” she said “Civilians don’t expect to go to a movie and experience this kind of trauma.”
The free services offered at the resilience center will also be offered to Aurora residents struggling with other life traumas.
“This isn’t an exclusive place for those who have experienced a trauma,” said Karen Morales, spokeswoman for the 7/20 Recovery Committee. “It’s a place for anyone to come who wants to learn more about how the traumas of day-to-day life can affect us as individuals.”
Having a place to share feelings of grief and hope alongside other victims of the theater shooting is important, said Lasamoa Cross, who watched as her boyfriend AJ Boik was killed in the shooting. Cross said group therapy sessions with other victims of the theater shooting would be helpful for her.
“It’s so much harder to talk to people that haven’t really experienced loss like this, or something as traumatic,” she said. “I think it’s magnificent because it’s one of those things where I can talk to those who were there, and that do understand.”
Victims of tragedies learn to cope with emotional pain in different ways. But one thing is certain, said Kristen Anderson, disaster coordinator for Aurora Mental Health Center. Rarely ever do they make it through traumatic experiences alone. “Social support is the common thread,” she said. “And I feel like this place can give them that.”