NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — While police and first responders were racing to The Covenant School Monday to respond to a mass shooting, volunteers were racing to a different church to set up a reunification center in record time.
"What I am so proud of in this response, is how quickly they all not only rushed to action, but they coordinated that action," said Jennifer Brinkman, the director of Tennessee's Office of Criminal Justice Programs.
It took less than 45 minutes, all because they had a plan.
"We are one of the few that has these protocols. And that’s because we realized it was going to be needed," said Brinkman.
Brinkman works for the state, and in her role, assisted communities like Nashville in crafting a blueprint plan for worst-case scenarios like this one.
"That when it happened, they knew they needed the site and who was responsible for getting it — so there was not five people calling 15 places and opening up reunification sites everywhere," she said.
On Monday, it was the nonprofit Tennessee Voices for Victims that rallied volunteers and planned out every detail.
"You’ve got to get water there. You’ve got to get snacks there. You need to make sure you have enough people who are present to sit in that room and just listen to those families while they wait to hear what happened," said Brinkman.
That might have been the best service the volunteers provided.
"They’ll sit just quietly next to a family when they see that they’re struggling and they’ll offer support," she said.
Even though it's been a hard week, Jennifer knows for the Covenant families, they may get even harder. Don't worry, the state has a plan for that too.
"That we anticipate will have to be for 2-3 years, to provide support for this community," said Brinkman.
Brinkman says the first implementation of the state's blueprint came in the response to the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.
On Friday, Covenant families had the chance to pick up belongings that were left behind at the school. Many of the same volunteers at the reunification center on Monday assisted on Friday as well.
