"Here's the truth: Racism exists in America. Xenophobia exists in America, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia — it all exists. And so the work to address injustice wherever it exists remains the work ahead," @VP said. https://t.co/yFRiOZkicc

In the midst of shock and mourning over the recent tragedy, the Aurora, Colo. community proves to be a site of immense strength. 

Twelve crosses now stand near the movie theater where suspected shooter James Holmes opened fire on a full audience at a showing of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. The site quickly filled with flowers, candles, and other gifts as streams of people came to pay their respects to the 12 deceased and 58 wounded in the July 20 shooting.

  Individuals and groups are offering resources and support systems in order to cope and heal. Thousands attended a Sunday vigil organized by local religious and civic leaders. Local pastors and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper read the names of those lost. After each name, the crowd repeated, “We will remember.” (watch @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/vigil-for-colo-victims-dr_n_1694807.html - Video: Vigil for Aurora, Colo. Theater Shooting Victims Draws Columbine Survivor from Huffington Post)

  "Colorado is not a violent place, but we have some violent people. We are a strong and resilient community, and we will lean on each other in the days, weeks and months to come," Aurora Congressman Ed Perlmutter told The Hill.

President Obama traveled to Aurora earlier that day to meet with the victim’s families. Batman actor Christian Bale, along with his wife, visited seven survivors of the shooting at the Medical Center of Aurora on Tuesday.

  Colorado’s historical memory of violence situates the shooting 13 years after the massacre at Columbine High School, 20 miles away from Aurora. Columbine survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter attended the Sunday vigil and fellow Columbine survivors are reaching out to Aurora’s survivors over the phone and on Facebook.

  Online & Victim Support

At a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims, community members light candles

on the sidewalk for the victims. Photo: David Zalubowski/AP

Online, people across the country are offering support, prayers, and fundraising efforts. Shooting survivor Cody Hickman created the Survivors Of the Aurora Theater Shooting Facebook page “for others to connect, and share their support and stories.”

“The Aurora theater shooting affected a lot of lives, and coming together as a community, be it local or global, is one of the most important tools for getting through this ordeal,” Hickman wrote.

The Aurora Theater Shooting Facebook page offers tributes and resources submitted by both moderators and members in one place. In fact, there have been so many requests from those looking to volunteer that the creators were prompted to make a sister page strictly for volunteer organizing.

  The Denver Channel reports that GivingFirst.org has recieved almost $2 million in donations, while local Calvary Chapel is offering financial assistance for the victim’s funerals in addition to free grief counseling services. The Colorado Organization for Crime Victims is also helping victims and their families to access funding for funerals in addition to compensation. Their website urges visitors to “like” their Facebook pagefor the most up to date information.

  On a more personal level, friends have come together to raise funds for shooting victims and new father,Caleb Medley. After being shot in the eye, Medley remains in a coma in intensive care. His friends have raised more than $70,000 to help with a medical bill that could add up to $2 million without insurance.

  Another victim, Rebecca Wingo, was fatally wounded, leaving behind two daughters, 9 and 5 years old. People have pledged more than $15,000 to support Wingo’s daughters and family.

  "It's the acts of kindness and compassion, bravery and selflessness that defines who we are," Mayor Steve Hogan said. "Our hearts are broken. Our community is not."

Today we would like to share with you a note from one of our monthly donors. Kathryn is a retired teacher from Oregon, and she has been sending us a monthly donation since October 2011. Inside this colorful card, Kathryn addresses Not In Our Town Executive Producer Patrice O'Neill and our team. 

We are so grateful to all of our supporters for helping to make this work possible. We invite you to join Kathryn and our other regular donors by making a monthly contribution to Not In Our Town.

Dear Patrice and the rest of the Working Group,

As a retired public school teacher who believes strongly in diversity and social and economic justice, I am glad to send the Working Group a monthly donation. From Not In Our Town to Light in the Darkness, your work advocating for and teaching nonviolence and peace is dear to my heart and soul. Thank you for all you do to make our world a better place for all of us one town at a time.

Tune into this original Not In Our Town programming from our public media partners at Fronteras.

We asked you this question in October 2011:  Does your community make you feel safe and included, or scared and marginalized?

The Fronteras: Changing America Desk has joined forces with Not in Our Town documentary producers to determine how hate affects communities throughout the Southwest and what people like you are doing about it.

  Tune in to hear these stories on KJZZ at 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. during Morning Edition

7/23 NOT ON OUR CAMPUS: Jude Joffe-Block reports on a Phoenix suburb that instituted an Anti-Defamation League training program in all of the district high schools, after a ring of teenagers who identified as white supremacists committed a series of violent assaults.

7/24 HATE CRIMES COALITION/OSCAR GARCIA: San Diego has one of the worst white supremacist problems in the U.S. We profile a police detective who works on hate crimes cases and see how cooperation with local anti-hate groups helps law enforcement identify and proscecute hate crimes.

7/25 WINGSPAN AND LGBT ISSUES ALONG THE BORDER: Life for LGBT residents living along the border is difficult, especially for Latino immigrants who often keep their sexuality a secret in fear of being ostracized. Reporter Michel Marizco investigates what a Tucson-based group called Wingspan is doing to offer support and counseling.

7/26 ALBUQUERQUE MEN OF COLOR: New Mexico regularly promotes the diversity of its Hispanic, Native American and White communities, but often leaves its African American residents shrouded in obscurity. Reporter Elaine Baumgartel tells the story of a new Men of Color initiative that is trying to empower this minority population.

7/27 ALAMO MELTING POT: San Antonio is evolving into an international metropolis with booming tech industries, which have attracted an influx of South Asians. Reporter Hernan Rozemberg explores the Alamo City to see how it’s combating hate crimes against these new residents.

Visit fronterasdesk.org for the latest updates, audio archives and other details about this series. Tell us your story by posting your comments on 

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