Colorado journalist helps others navigate grief after her father was killed in mass shooting

CBS News

7 hours ago

Colorado journalist, whose father was killed in mass shooting, now helps others navigate grief
Colorado journalist, whose father was killed in mass shooting, now helps others navigate grief
Colorado journalist, whose father was killed in mass shooting, now helps others navigate grief
Finding purpose through pain has become a daily endeavor for Erika Mahoney, an award-winning journalist who lives in Colorado. Her world changed instantaneously after her father was killed in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder on March 22, 2021.
Now, she's hoping to help others affected by these all-too-common tragedies cope with grief and trauma, and collectively heal, through a podcast she just launched called "Senseless with Erika Mahoney."
"My hope is to open peoples' eyes to the pain that these American tragedies create and talk about how we move forward after the unthinkable," she said.
In the podcast, she speaks with survivors of mass shootings, community leaders, and others affected by the tragedy.
"These events have such a massive ripple effect. In the show, my editor came up with this phrase, 'web of pain.' With mass shootings, you have a massive 'web of pain,'" she said. "By sitting down with so many people affected by the tragedy in Boulder – not only did I learn about how this affected somebody who maybe didn't lose a family member but maybe they were in the grocery store and survived, the police officers who responded, the doctors at the local hospital – it was humbling. These just have such an outsized community impact, and I think it's really time that we recognize the true damage that these cause."
She said she hopes people take away a few things from her podcast.
"We are all connected as human beings," Mahoney said. "Showing up for each other and talking about these hard things out loud truly matters."
Mahoney said she releases new episodes on Tuesday.