Concerns about trauma beneath the surface 1 month after Lapu Lapu tragedy

CTV News

27-05-2025

Candles burn at a memorial for the Lapu Lapu Day block party tragedy in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/ The Canadian Press)
For survivors of the Lapu Lapu festival attack on April 26, physical wounds are beginning to heal.
But a month after an SUV plowed into a crowd at the celebration of Filipino culture in south Vancouver, killing 11 and injuring dozens more, there are concerns mental anguish is going untreated.
'There's a crisis starting to emerge and it's just below the surface, and there's a sense that it'll erupt soon,' said RJ Aquino with Filipino BC.
While funding has been made available to non-profits to provide mental health supports in the wake of the Lapu Lapu attack, Aquino says not enough people are taking advantage of the treatment.
'They don't want to take resources away from witnesses, and then witnesses don't want to take resources away from people in the hospital, then those folks don't want to take resources away from the families of those who died,' Aquino said.
Christi-Ann Watkins, who is recovering from multiple broken bones and road rash over her entire body after being hit from behind by the speeding SUV at the festival, understands that sentiment.
'Mental health and Filipinos is quite new,' she said. 'We were always just taught someone has it worse than you. Mental health, you know, just buck up or just pray.'
She is grateful she didn't witness the scenes of carnage like many at the festival.
'For me, the blessing in disguise – besides being alive – is that I didn't see anything. I got hit from behind and then I was on the ground, so all I saw was the sky,' she said.
But Watkins' 11-year-old-son, who was also at the festival, did see what happened.
'At this point right now, his brain is protecting him. He doesn't remember anything,' she said. 'But there are other people that saw him that confirmed certain horrific things that he might have seen.'
Watkins and Filipino BC are encouraging anyone who's having a difficult time coping after to seek help, whether they attended the festival or not.
'We're seeing it's difficult for many who are experiencing trauma to even realize just how much they've been impacted themselves,' Aquino said. 'We're hearing how they're still like, 'Oh, my friend hasn't left the house.' 'I'm afraid to go across the street until it's absolutely clear.' It really has done a number on people's sense of security and well-being.'
He's worried if people continue to suffer in silence, there could be further tragedies.
'It's a dangerous and insidious thing when people start to withdraw, when people start to isolate themselves, not everyone may understand what they're going through, what they're feeling or have the tools to process that themselves,' Aquiino said.
There are links to mental health supports connected to Lapu Lapu on filipinobc.com