It’s been six months since the Clackamas Town Center shootings. Two Oregonians were killed that day: Steve Forsyth and Cindy Yuille.

Photo Courtesy of Clackamas County Sheriffs Department.

Another shopper was critically injured. The shooter, Jacob Roberts, also died at the scene. Time has passed, but the trauma is still fresh for some people.

Clackamas County mental health workers have continued to care for victims and others traumatized by the shootings. Martha Spiers, who manages safety net programs for county Behavioral Health. She observed a spike in requests for help on crisis lines and at a walk-in clinic in the weeks after the shooting – as many as ten a day at one point. And, she says, when it’s in the news, she hears from people again.

“Most recently when the investigation was released, we had a number of employees from the Town Center coming back. But for the most part it’s trickled down.”

Paul Kemp’s brother-in-law, Steve Forsyth, was one of those killed when Jacob Roberts opened fire at the mall. Forsyth was so loved, Kemp estimates the crowd at his memorial service at around 2,000 people.

As devastating as the loss has been, Kemp told OPB’s Think Out Loud, in some respects, the incident hasn’t changed how he feels about guns.

“I would say the majority of our family supports gun ownership and the second amendment. I haven’t heard anybody in the family change that position.”

That said, Kemp also says the incident is an example of what happens when guns get into the wrong hands. Sheriff’s investigators concluded the rifle Roberts used in the attack was stolen from someone he knew. For Kemp, safety is key.

“Personally I don’t understand the NRA,” Kemp says, “why they don’t stand up at their highest point and promote safety and training. That’s what they used to do. That is not what they do today.”

While Kemp acknowledges that safety is part of the NRA platform, he says it’s not the group’s lobbying focus.

Despite a flurry of lobbying and activism immediately after the shooting, Oregon’s legislature has taken little action to limit access to firearms or high-capacity ammunition clips.

Prospects are better for a expansion in mental health services, which has the support of the Governor and Senate leaders. It’s not explicitly tied to Clackamas Town Center, but much of the political momentum for the bill was powered by the shooting.

Clackamas County Crisis line for mental health emergencies: 503-655-8585

This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.