Kneeling before several bouquets of flowers, two young Summit County residents held each other in silence on Wednesday afternoon as they remembered the friend they鈥檇 lost days earlier.
The memorial for 18-year-old Charlie Foster sat near the intersection of Summit Drive and Idlewild Drive in Summit Cove, the area where .
鈥淣o one really got to say goodbye, and I think that鈥檚 been the hardest thing,鈥� said Wes Dennis, a soon-to-be high school senior who met Foster during freshman year. 鈥淚 wish I got to say goodbye 鈥� told him I loved him one last time.鈥�
Foster, who had graduated Summit High weeks ago, had recently been struggling with mental health-related issues, Dennis said.
He was apparently known to police from his interactions over the past three weeks with the Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team, also known as SMART, which handles mental-health related calls, according to Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons.
A statement from law enforcement stated that officers responded to a report Sunday morning of an 鈥渁rmed individual wandering in the neighborhood waving a firearm and banging on residents鈥� doors.鈥� Officers claim Foster failed to comply with verbal commands and pointed a handgun at law enforcement officers, who subsequently shot and killed him.
A family member claims the weapon was a BB gun, a detail the sheriff鈥檚 office has not clarified.
As the county becomes enveloped by grief, local counselors are predicting far reaching mental health impacts across the community.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the impacts will be necessarily, but I can say that it does affect the entire community, especially since we are such a tight-knit community,鈥� said Kellyn Ender, executive director for the nonprofit Building Hope. 鈥淭he ripple effects can be big.鈥�
Edner said the incident comes as many current and former Summit High School students navigate the fallout of other tragic events, .
鈥淪ummit High School students have been through a lot in the last few years 鈥� I can only imagine that grief is heavy to process,鈥� Edner said. 鈥淎ny time we lose a peer, it鈥檚 extremely difficult.鈥�
On Monday, the day after Foster鈥檚 death, Building Hope hosted a walk-in mental health clinic at the high school. Ender said between six and 10 people came, made up of students and their families.
Edner said the nonprofit is planning future sessions in the coming weeks as she and other community partners rally to get the word out that help is on the way.
鈥淵ou never know what the community is going to want or be ready for when a tragedy like this happens,鈥� Edner said. 鈥淓ven if just one person shows up, we鈥檙e glad to be there for that person.鈥�
Kelly Finley, lead counselor for the high school, said right now 鈥渒ids are hurting, adults are hurting鈥� and urged parents and family members to 鈥渕ake space and have those honest conversations with yourself and your family.鈥�
鈥淭his mental health crisis that we鈥檙e seeing is not contained to Summit County, it鈥檚 not contained to the state of Colorado,鈥� Finley said. 鈥淲e are seeing a mental health crisis with our youth across the country and world.鈥�
The school district employs a multi-pronged mental health approach dubbed 鈥渟ources of strength鈥� to help students and families navigate such challenges. The practice centers on eight foundational elements: mental health, physical health, healthy activities, family support, positive friends, mentors, generosity and spirituality.
Anna Howden, a high school psychologist, said many of these elements can overlap and often will mean different things to people. Spirituality, for example, may be religion, but it could also be connecting with nature by being outdoors.
Finley said she and other high school mental health practitioners are doing what they can to monitor and respond to students who are reaching out. While counselors won鈥檛 officially be back on the job until the school year begins in August, there are resources and programs available now.
That includes assistance offered through Building Hope, which provides scholarships that pay for up to 12 sessions with a contracted therapist in the county. Anyone can also call Building Hope鈥檚 main phone number, , to be connected with the organization鈥檚 peer support line.
The service is free and is meant for anyone who 鈥渘eeds a space to talk and process,鈥� though Edner said this is not the same as a crisis line, which is for immediate, mental health-related emergencies.
Outside of Summit County, the state offers up to six free virtual therapy sessions through the. A brief survey connects parents and youth with therapists for confidential sessions.
Conversations between parents and children are crucial, said Edner, who advised family members to hear their children out even if they can鈥檛 remedy the situation.
鈥淚 think that parents allowing kids to be able to express their emotions and how they鈥檙e working through it is important, not trying to just make them feel better,鈥� Edner said, emphasizing that parents should be patient and calm as they let their children process their emotions.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure that parents are scared too,鈥� Edner said. 鈥淚 would just say hug your kids. Let them know that you love them and you鈥檙e there for them and no matter what鈥檚 going on in their life that you鈥檙e an open door for them.鈥�
As community members continue to navigate the coming weeks and months, Edner said her hope is for Summit County residents to 鈥渟upport one another through this tragedy.鈥�
Dennis, the friend of Foster, said he wants everyone to 鈥渃heck on your friends regularly.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something I always do,鈥� Dennis said. 鈥淚鈥檇 hate to see this happen to anybody else.鈥�
Photo 1 - Two friends of recent Summit High School graduate Charlie Foster, who was shot and killed by police, crouch at his memorial in Summit Cove on Wednesday, July 12.
Robert Tann/Summit Daily 暗黑爆料
Photo 2 - Wes Dennis, an incoming senior at Summit High School, crouches by a memorial for his friend, 18-year-old Charlie Foster, in Summit Cove on Wednesday, July 12.
Robert Tann/Summit Daily 暗黑爆料