'To find ways to laugh...to feel safe': Highland Park comedienne, parade co-emcee helps community to heal
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One of the survivors of the mass shooting in Highland Park was a co-emcee of the parade.
She's a comedian, and part of her job is working with trauma survivors. Now, after July 4th, she's a survivor of gun violence, too.
CBS 2's Asal Rezaei reports the woman uses comedy and improv to help victims of trauma heal. She'll now be using the resources she once gave others to help her own healing journey.
Jessica Antes teaches improv at Second City, but she also works with Humor for Hope, using her comedic skills to help trauma survivors, seniors and people dealing with death and disease.
"Creating safe spaces for people to find ways to laugh, find ways to feel safe around others, take risks be vulnerable again," Antes said.
A form of therapy that's heavy on laughter and gives people a chance to be silly again. Therapy tools that Antes will now need to work through her own trauma.
"It's just as useful for me to be around people who are like, here to have like, a great and safe summer and like the fact that I can facilitate that is healing me," Antes said.
She was front and center hosting Highland Park's Fourth of July parade the same way she has for the past few years. A joyous day quickly turning into a living nightmare as shots rang out and people ran for their lives.
"I was like, banging on doors and just like trying to hide behind a pillar. Just everybody's screaming," Antes said. "You hear people screaming for their kids. It was it was absolute terror."
"I ran to my car. There's like, three little kids and like three adults and like a tiny puppy, like hiding behind my car," Antes said.
That family piled into her car and she drove them and several others to their homes. Antes said the chaos of that day, and the horrific things she saw have caused debilitating anxiety.
It's why her friends and community put together a GoFundMe page to help her through the healing process, whatever that may look like for her.
Antes can't believe the support as the page has raised over $12,000.
"There's so many people that are experiencing worse and you know, my, my friends they put it in a way of like, trauma, it's not a competition," she said.
Antes said she'll be taking a small step back when it comes to teaching and helping trauma survivors to focus on her mental health, taking the advice she always gives to others to help herself.
