The Head Start community grieves with the families of the victims of the violence in downtown Sacramento on April 3, 2022. Six families have lost parents or children.
The remarks of our elected leaders highlight this one simple idea that unites us all: we all have families – people we love. President Biden summarized the painful truth: “Families forever changed. Survivors left to heal wounds both visible and invisible.” Governor Newsom agreed that this tragedy has left “families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief.”
Head Start works to make children healthier and families stronger by creating community-based programs to support them. But these programs are damaged whenever the community is attacked, whenever there is fear, harm, bloodshed or death. Violence in our communities, in any form, is ultimately violence against children – the most vulnerable members of the community who cannot control the circumstances in which they live or the safety of their neighborhoods. They rely on us for that.
The California Head Start community remains committed to creating safer communities for all families, the first step in preparing all children for a better future.