In the aftermath of the Marysville-Pilchuck shootings, the Whidbey Island community is reaching out to help where it can.

The shooting left four people dead, including the shooter.

Recently, mental health counselors with Island County Mental Health traveled to Marysville-Pilchuck to talk with students.

“The need for counseling for students, obviously, as they move on from this tragedy, is overwhelming,” said Steve King, assistant superintendent of the Oak Harbor School District.

One of the counselors who traveled to Marysville-Pilchuck, Betsy Griffith, is the in-school counselor for Oak Harbor schools.

“It’s a critical time for the students at that school,” Griffith said, “making sure that they have support and someone to talk to.”

Charlene Ray, the mental health supervisor for Island County, organized the trips that many of the counselors made to Marysville-Pilchuck. The Shoreline School District, which was helping in the Marysville School District, requested support of their own.

“If you can give students counseling … soon after a trauma, it can help them work through their feelings so … the potential of longer-term problems decreases,” Ray said.

“It’s important for anyone, not just adolescents, but in anyone who has experienced trauma, to be offered an opportunity to have some form of crisis debriefing or trauma counseling after an event like that,” she said.

“Ethically, it just feels really important to help each other out,” she said. “Their students, our students, they’re all connected. It’s just something that we all do for each other when there’s a time of crisis.”

Griffith was only in Marysville on Nov. 6. While there, she was able to help many people.

“The students were definitely having a range of emotions,” she said. “They were very grateful to have people there to talk to.”

Eddy Mulcahy, the in-school counselor for South Whidbey High School, went for three days, Nov. 6, 7 and 10. He said that when he heard the county was looking to send counselors to Marysville, he offered his services.

“It’s meaningful work,” he said. “You’re in the thick of it, and it’s just right there, meaningful work to do. That’s one of the callings I feel as a counselor, is to do that kind of work.”

Mulcahy described the situation as “horrible and tragic.”

“You never want to have to do that kind of thing,” Mulcahy said. “But also, I was glad to be able to go over there and serve those kids that are dealing with that tragedy.”

Sending counselors was covered by one-tenth of 1 percent tax money, which funds several programs for Island County Mental Health, such as the school-based counseling programs.

“I think that our community should be proud as well that we have the resources and the individuals trained and can be deployed,” Commissioner Jill Johnson said.

“That’s that one-tenth money that we agreed to support. We usually get the benefit from it, but it’s been a gift we’ve been able to give that community, and I think everyone should be proud of that.”

“The students at MP are fantastic students,” Mulcahy said.

“It’s definitely a community that’s healing, but they’re very supportive of each other … and going through this experience together was really fantastic to see for sure.

“There’s a lot of healing that needs to go on. That happens anytime a tragedy like this happens.”

“I want to compliment my staff but also our school districts who didn’t bat an eye in saying yes,” said Island County Human Resources Director Jackie Henderson in a meeting with the board of commissioners last week.

“They have been incredibly grateful. We made sure our staff keeps up to date on training … because it’s tough work.

“They were seeing 10-12 kids a day. That’s a lot of stories to hold. That’s a lot of tough stuff they’re doing.”