OXFORD, Mich. — If you walk through downtown Oxford, you’ll find a sign that reads "Oxford Strong" in the window of almost every business.
As the pre-trial of the Oxford High School shooter got underway Monday morning, the victims were heavy on the minds of people inside Evergreens Coffee and Bakeshop on S. Washington.
"It has been on everybody’s mind. I have three grandsons who are 16, 13, and 11 and they think about this a lot," said Emily Sutherland as she sat in the coffee shop.
Sutherland says while she lives in a neighboring community, she works in Oxford. She says the traumatic event has been difficult to move on from.
"I think these young people who have been through this, especially in this community, it’s going to be lifelong trauma for them and they’re going to need people who are going to be watching for those trauma triggers to happen and to be able to do intervention in those situations and it’s going to be a process," said Sutherland.
Sutherland says she's hoping to pour into young people in the community. She was in the coffee shop Monday planning the opening of her new business, Esther's Place, which offers services to young women at risk.
"I think you think about it as you send your kids to school, especially for me. I pray every morning as I take my daughter to school, that she’s protected and all the kids are protected," said Wendi Martin as she sat in the coffee shop.
Martin who also works in Oxford says she's proud of the way her community has shown up for families hurting following the shooting.
"All the communities, people from all different backgrounds felt like it happened to them," said Martin. "It is pretty amazing how everybody has come together."
