Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On Sunday June 12, 2016 a senseless and hate filled attack against the LGBTQA community occurred. We are sure that all of you are feeling the impact, emotions, sense of mourning, and overarching concerns from this attack to varying degrees, and we want to share with you our concern for your wellbeing, the wellbeing of our individual and collective communities, and our goals to best support you at this time.

We, as a community of higher education professionals, strive to create a safe and welcoming environment for our students and colleagues. We must stand together against these acts of violence; we must act as allies and advocates for our students and our colleagues impacted by these tragedies. We must support our LGBTQA and Muslim faith communities, and we must strategize and act to do whatever we can to prevent these horrendous acts in the future. Above all, we must act out of love, compassion, support, and advocacy.

As we send this message, ACPA chapters, including NECPA, are working with the ACPA International Office to put into place our next steps forward in light of the Orlando shootings. We are actively seeking out the needs of our respective communities to best support you. In coming days and weeks these elements will be coming to you from both NECPA and from ACPA directly. We urge you to take advantage of the opportunities you hear about to the fullest extent that you need. Each of us will process, grieve, and heal in our own way, so as you discover support that you think we may be able to offer you, please do reach out. For many of you, NECPA has become a home professionally, and it is our hope to make that home as supportive and helpful as possible.

We thank you for the work you do at your own institution and for the massive amount of time, energy, and compassion you are committing to support others in this time of need. Together we will continue to prove that love beats hate.

Sincerely,
New England College Personnel Association Executive Board