Gun violence leaves behind extra than simply headlines; it leaves behind grieving households, shattered communities, and unanswered questions. For Oresa Napper Williams, the ache grew to become private when she misplaced her son, Andrell Napper, to mindless violence. As a substitute of succumbing to despair, she turned her grief into motion, founding Not One other Little one to assist households going through comparable tragedies. Now, with the discharge of her e book, Good Grief, she’s offering a roadmap for therapeutic, resilience, and advocacy.
BLACK ENTERPRISE sat down with Napper-Williams to debate the emotional toll of gun violence, the pressing want for systemic change, and the way Good Grief is giving survivors the instruments to navigate their ache and reclaim their energy.
BE: Grief is deeply private, but your e book Good Grief affords a collective path to therapeutic. What was the turning level that led you to remodel your ache right into a information for others?
Oresa: My transformation started after I sat with the fact of my son’s homicide. After the funeral and burial, regardless of having assist, nobody might absolutely sit in that ache with me. Then I started assembly households who didn’t have any assist, households who have been navigating trauma alone, burdened by societal stereotypes and media portrayals of their family members.
It grew to become clear to me that I couldn’t stay in grief on my own, nor might I let others. So, I started strolling alongside them. I listened. I discovered. I led. And I allowed myself to heal by therapeutic with them. That shared expertise made the burden of grief extra bearable and extra transformative.
BE: Gun violence has left a devastating influence on Black communities. Out of your perspective, what are probably the most important modifications wanted to interrupt this cycle?
We should acknowledge that this isn’t another person’s downside. Gun violence is an all-hands-on-deck disaster. Even in the event you haven’t misplaced a liked one, it impacts you—your neighborhood, your future, your peace.
The answer requires motion on a number of fronts: laws, psychological well being assets, schooling, and neighborhood therapeutic. Weapons don’t simply present up. They’re trafficked, usually into neighborhoods already combating systemic neglect. We have to maintain methods accountable and work collectively to create a tradition that values life and fosters therapeutic.
BE: By Not One other Little one, you’ve supported numerous grieving households. What are a few of their most typical struggles, and the way does your group assist them navigate loss?
These households face trauma that’s each emotional and systemic. Many are instantly judged, and there’s usually an assumption that their liked one was concerned in one thing felony. That judgment can result in being denied sufferer compensation, receiving chilly therapy from establishments, or getting no solutions in any respect from regulation enforcement.
At NAC, we provide one thing uncommon: survivor-led companies. We offer a secure, nonjudgmental house the place households can grieve brazenly, navigate the authorized system, and discover emotional assist. We’re there for court docket dates, anniversaries, birthdays, each arduous second. And we keep till households inform us, “I’m OK now.”
BE: Therapeutic usually includes each particular person and neighborhood motion. How do you steadiness private therapeutic whereas advocating for systemic change in gun violence prevention?
Once I realized this was my divine task, I knew it wasn’t nearly me or my son, although each matter deeply. I imagine my son’s transition had a higher function, and that perception fuels my advocacy.
This work is about methods, sure—nevertheless it additionally begins with self. I make house for my grief, for relaxation, and reflection. If I don’t heal myself, I can’t present up authentically for others. Therapeutic will not be a one-time act; it’s ongoing. And after I present up as my complete self, I can higher information others towards therapeutic, too.
BE: Many survivors really feel remoted of their grief. What recommendation do you give to these struggling to seek out assist or which means after dropping a liked one to gun violence?
First, discover your individuals. Group is the whole lot. At NAC, we’ve seen survivors develop into chosen household—individuals who perceive your ache while not having an evidence.
Regardless of the place you’re, you’re not alone. Whether or not your loss was as a result of violence, most cancers, or anything, there’s a assist system on the market for you. Group helps you rediscover function, and that function is private. It doesn’t need to imply beginning a nonprofit; it may very well be one thing as easy and highly effective as strolling with somebody on an analogous path or sharing your story.
As I say in Good Grief: “Time doesn’t heal; it reveals the why.” The one you love’s life and legacy have which means. That which means is your anchor.
BE: There’s a stigma within the Black neighborhood surrounding psychological well being and grief counseling. How does Good Grief problem these stigmas and encourage open discussions about trauma?
Good Grief challenges these stigmas head-on. Too many people are carrying trauma we’ve by no means unpacked. When one thing like a liked one’s homicide occurs, it usually compounds a long time of unprocessed ache.
Earlier than I might mourn my son, I needed to confront childhood trauma, poverty, single motherhood—all of it. That’s why psychological well being assist is important. It helps you’re employed by way of the layers, not simply the floor loss. Therapeutic requires educated professionals, not simply good intentions.
BE: What’s one message you hope readers take away from Good Grief, particularly these immediately impacted by gun violence, what wouldn’t it be?
Grief is actual, and it’s heavy. However you don’t have to remain within the darkness. Give your self grace. Keep in mind that therapeutic takes time and intention. Focus not simply on the loss however on the love, the laughter, the legacy the one you love left behind. That’s the place the sunshine is. Therapeutic begins whenever you enable your self to develop by way of what you undergo.
To be taught extra about Good Grief, go to: www.oresawill.com.
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