Just days after the February 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., former Sandy Hook Elementary School library/media specialist Yvonne Cech traveled to the area to support her friend Diana Haneski, a fellow library/media specialist who works at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Ms Cech, who now lives in Danbury and is the director of the Brookfield Library, said while visiting the area she offered to talk with other staff to share words of support from someone who has experienced a similar horrific event.

After 12/14, educators and community members from other towns that had previously experienced gun violence visited Newtown to share their stories and support. Those visits, five years ago, ended up offering more than support: they have left a lasting impression on Ms Cech, former Sandy Hook School library staff and resident Mary Ann Jacob, and other educators in town.

Last week Newtown educators gathered in front of Edmond Town Hall to sign a banner with words of condolence and love. The February 21 event was organized by Ms Jacob, Head O' Meadow fourth grade teacher Abbey Clements, and Newtown High School English teacher Kristin English. The event was one way for local educators to send their words to Parkland.

Ms Jacob said this week the plan is to send the banner to Parkland through Ms Cech directly to Ms Haneski. Ms Jacob explained she hopes the banner is a way of sharing the same kind of lesson that the gun violence survivors who visited Newtown shared with local educators.

"We know as a community that tons of people cared, but hearing from someone who has been through the same thing just makes a difference," said Ms Jacob.

Ms Cech said she was at work on February 14 when she received word about the shooting at "Diana's high school." The friends met in their early 20s while working at Brookfield radio station i-95 FM. There was a group of people in their early 20s working at the station at the time. Ms Cech said there were six couples from the job who all got married within a few weeks of each other in 1984. The friends all went on to have babies around the same time, as well.

Most moved on from the radio world, "but we all stayed really close." A get-together is held every year, and Ms Cech said she sees Ms Haneski a few times a year.

"After the shooting at Sandy Hook, we all got together," Ms Cech remembered this week. She went on to share the story of hiding children that day, as fellow school librarian Ms Haneski listened.

Since hearing the story, Ms Cech said her friend always carried her cellphone and her keys with her, "taking that from the story that you always need to be prepared and ready, never in a million years thinking this would happen." Ms Cech said she and Ms Haneski faced similar experiences of sheltering students on those two days just over five years apart.

While in Florida the weekend after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Ms Cech said she offered to meet with the high school educators. That offer quickly mushroomed into a presentation before a few hundred people at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, which donated a venue and its technology for the event, according to Ms Cech.

Ms Cech's daughter Ashley Cech, who is a survivor program associate for EveryTown For Gun Safety, also spoke at the event.

"The problem with gun violence in our country needs to be resolved, needs to be addressed," said Ms Cech.

Ms Cech said the presentation shared information about addressing gun violence and shared the message that everyone goes through the process of recovery in their own way. Ms Cech said some people will take action, some will make changes in their lives, some will be quiet, and it is important not to judge others.

Ms Jacob said she has been impressed with the community of Parkland, specifically the efforts of the high school's youth. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, she said, have turned the normal dynamic of the media leading a conversation around: The students are leading the conversation.

"I think it is refreshing," said Ms Jacob.

Momentum, Ms Jacob added, is building for change with corporations and others noticing the message. She said she is pleased to be part of the movement, and she hopes it is supported.