Communications Guidance

The City of Highland Park (the City) has compiled these recommendations to help community members share information about the Highland Park shooting in a compassionate, trauma-informed manner. The information in this guide is based on guidance provided by the Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime (OVC). These guidelines are shared for the consideration of community members interested in understanding best practices that support the long-term resiliency of communities impacted by gun violence, as it is important to be cognizant of language, design, or other items that may inadvertently cause harm to others.

Guiding Principles

  • Do no harm.

    This maxim was immediately shared with the City by the OVC and proved to be a north star. “Do no harm” challenges us as a community to think beyond our own comfort levels, to consider as carefully and as thoroughly as possible the potential and inadvertent consequences of the words and images we use to talk about the impacts of this tragedy and memorialize those who were killed.

  • Opt-In

    Not everyone is in a position to discuss their experience of the shooting as individuals experience trauma and resiliency in different ways. What is helpful to one person may be harmful to another. Giving individuals the opportunity to “opt-in” to content regarding the shooting, such as social media posts or events, is respectful of their individual process.

  • Trauma-Informed

    Trauma-informed communication makes every effort to avoid inadvertently retraumatizing individuals impacted by violence by using victim-centered verbal and body language, being cognizant of details, descriptions, or “trigger” words, and practicing transparency and open communication with individuals directly impacted.

  • Individualized

    When speaking with victims or trauma survivors, it’s always a good idea to mirror their language. This demonstrates respect and empathy. For example, if a victim uses the term “anniversary,” it’s OK to use that term when speaking with that person. However, when speaking to a broader audience (such as on social media), where you do not have that personal connection, using best practice recommendations is recommended.

Using this Guide

The recommendations in this guide are provided for informational purposes and are best on best practices as shared by the Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime, feedback from local service providers, and research into trauma-informed communications. These recommendations are provided as part of ongoing efforts to balance diverse needs within the community. Providing this information is intended to help individuals who may or may not have been directly impacted by the Highland Park shooting to navigate the complexities and nuances of talking about this traumatizing violent incident. In sharing these best practice recommendations, the City hopes to encourage individuals and organizations to consider the ways in which the words or images we use to discuss a violent incident may inadvertently prove to retraumatize others.

  • Not everyone will agree with every best practice recommendation - and that’s OK.

  • Follow the lead of others when discussing traumatizing topics, and be ready to set your own boundaries, too.

  • Trauma is an individual experience, and a person’s triggers or responses may change as they process their trauma.

  • Your perspective is valuable. Contact the Resiliency Division with questions or for support by emailing us at remembrance@cityhpil.com.

Best Practices

The following chart includes recommended approaches to common topics, each paired with related approaches that are not recommended, along with a rationale for each item. For some common items, a detailed rationale follows.

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Recommended Not Recommended Rationale
Use "Together Highland Park Unidos." Avoid using "Fuerza Highland Park Strong." Words like "strong" can set unrealistic expectations for the resiliency of victims and their family members.
Use "Highland Park shooting." Avoid "July 4 shooting" or "parade shooting." Separating the violent incident from the annual holiday supports long-term resiliency.
Refer to the passage of time without emotional language.  Avoid creating "anniversaries" by unduly investing emotional time and effort into dates. Creating emotional attachments to dates can make it challenging for victims to move forward.
Recognize that individuals have unique experiences of the same event, which they will process in different ways. Avoid words or phrases that set expectations for how someone is doing or how they "should be" doing. It's important to support individuals where they're at.
Check in with friends or family to see if they have the bandwidth to discuss the shooting or any emotional, weighty, or traumatizing topic. Avoid jumping into conversations about the shooting without giving others a heads-up. Avoid discussing these topics with casual acquaintances or captive audiences (such as hair stylists.) Giving others the choice to “opt-in” empowers them to self-advocate and set supportive boundaries. Not everyone is in a position to discuss complex topics, especially individuals in service professions who may frequently hear from multiple people about traumatic experiences.
Manage media consumption and take breaks if needed. Don’t feel compelled to share or engage with these topics even if your friend group is doing so. The response to news or information and whether (and how) to engage is up to each individual person.

Common Phrases

The words we choose can have inadvertent and unintentional consequences. As with other instances, the principle of “impact” vs. “intent” applies here. Good intent doesn’t excuse negative impact, and we can prevent negative impact by avoiding certain common phrases that are known to re-traumatize or otherwise harm victims’ families or survivors of similar incidents.

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Instead of this... Try this...
 healing
  resiliency
recovery  journey 
 strong resilient 
 normal familiar 
 move on move forward 
 trigger  re-traumatize
 lives lost  lives taken / people killed
 I understand  I hear you
you'll be OK  you've got this 
 time heals everything  you're on your own timeline
 how can I help? here's how I can help when you're ready 
I know how you feel   you're not alone
anniversary 
 remembrance 
 it was God's will  your spiritual director might be able to help

Intent vs. Impact

“Intent” is what a person meant by what they said or did - but “impact“ is how it was understood or experienced by another person. This principle is not limited to verbal exchanges. For example, if a braking driver skids on a slick road and unintentionally collides with the car ahead, they will still need to work with the other driver to repair the damage, even though they didn’t mean to bump into them - and even if they were trying their best to avoid the accident altogether.

Prioritizing impact over intent means recognizing that something said was inadvertently hurtful and taking steps to address the hurt by acknowledging it and making changes moving forward.

Learn more.

Download the full guidance for frequently asked questions, additional background information, and topical references.