Ep 77 Arik & Hannah Housley: Alaina's Voice

"Everybody talks about how strong we are all the time, but it's really how much we've been lifted up by everyone around us from literally the first second."   Arik & Hannah Housley are learning to live in a new world after losing their beautiful 18 yr old daughter Alaina to gun violence at Borderline in 2018. We are so honored and humbled that they shared in such an honest way about their experience from what has carried them through every parent's nightmare to honoring many of those who have supported them (they honored at least 23 people in this podcast-- I counted!). We also discussed their feelings toward the shooter, how faith has impacted their journey and "Alaina's Voice" -- a movement to change the world through kindness. "From a couple of friends that have lost loved ones, I remember thinking to myself "I would be so mad at God if this happened to me." and it was also again like a message of the exact opposite. Like you expect one thing and it's the complete opposite." Some of the other topics we touched on are:  -Learning about Alaina -The story of the Borderline shooting & finding out the terrible news -Being a creator instead of a victim -How "Alaina's Voice" was created & what she would say -Finding balance & truly living in the aftermath -Why "strong" looks different now -Why we need to focus on impacting our youth specifically -Acts of kindness that have stood out to them -"We don't need somebody to hate" -Dealing with feelings about the shooter -Why we need somebody to blame -A chance for change before this happens again -Faith's impact on their journey -The sources of their strength -Does time heal?  -What they've gained through this process -Why Alaina wants you the eat dark chocolate ;) -The message on their hearts -Whom we should interview next   Resources Mentioned:  Engaged Encounter Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Tranforms the Way We Live, Love parent, and Lead by Brene Brown Daily Dose by Brene Brown AlainasVoice.org Alaina's Voice Foundation on Facebook Alaina's Voice Foundation on Twitter #alainasvoice on IG