Crown Media Tamera Mowry-Housley in her recent Hallmark Christmas movie.
Tamera Mowry-Housley opened up on social media about her niece’s shooting death in California in 2018, near the two-year anniversary. Today, her family is running a foundation in her niece’s name that seeks to bring more kindness and love to the world. Mowry-Housley was the lead in Hallmark’s 2020 movie Christmas Comes Twice.
She Shared Posts About Her Niece & Wrote, ‘It Still Hurts’
On October 22, 2020, Mowry-Housley shared a throwback photo of her niece, Alaina, and her niece’s baby Ariah.
“This time of the year is hard. We miss you and love you more than words can even describe, but I know you’re watching over us every single day,” she wrote.
In early November 2020, she shared a video of Alaina and wrote: “There are days I loop my LIVE photos just to get a glimpse of you; your spirit, your smile, your kindness. 2 years without you…it still hurts. I miss my Lai Lai. The kids still talk about you and know you are their personal angel. I’ll never forget. Prayers to all those affected by gun violence. And to all the the victims still living with the aftermath of it..”
In 2019, Mowry-Housley dedicated an episode of The Housley Life to her niece.
An all-new episode of @thehousleylife is up! This week @adamhousley and I are unveiling @HousleyNapa. I’m dedicating this episode to my niece Alaina, who would have wanted me to go for my dreams … And I know she is always with me every step of the way. t.co/DM4xgpm6Xo
In 2019 on The Real, Mowry-Housley shared that the year anniversary of her niece’s death was really hard on her, Oprah Magazine reported. Her grandmother died in January 2019, two months after her niece died.
She said on The Real: “I’ve lost two very close people in my life very, very quickly in a short amount of time, and what I’ve learned from that situation is that life is short and don’t take for granted life… What I’ve learned is to really be present. To really see my friends, my family, and life. Life is precious. Don’t let your concerns, your worries just kind of suck that out of you. We are alive for a reason. If you’re here today, it’s because you have a purpose. So make sure you focus on that. And then also I’ve learned that the art of letting go things or people that do not serve you in a positive way because life is short. Don’t hold on to that crap. Let it go.”
Alaina Housley Died in a Shooting in 2018
In November 2018, Alaina Housley died during a shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. The shooter killed 12 people and killed himself. Housley was the youngest of the victims. Her father is Arik Housley, the brother of Tamera Mowry-Housley’s husband, Adam. Housley’s mother, Hannah, was a teacher at Vintage High, where Alaina had just graduated from in June before the 2018 shooting. Alaina was only 18 and was one of about 20 Pepperdine students at the bar during the shooting, Mediaite reported.
For a time, it wasn’t known what had happened to Housley. Her iPhone showed her location as being on the dance floor of the Borderline Bar, reported Kimi Yoshino of The Los Angeles Times. Two of her friends had jumped through a broken window to escape, reported Andrea Castillo of the LA Times. They said they lost Alaina Housley in all the chaos.
Mousley-Howley’s husband, Adam Housley, went to the hospital to look for his niece, but wasn’t allowed inside at first because the hospital was on lockdown, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Adam Housley said that as a reporter, he had been on the scene of mass shootings before, but this was different. “You just don’t think that — same stupid quote — you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
My niece. A beautiful soul.
As a reporter, he covered six mass shootings and four times out of those, he was the first on the scene.
Alaina Housley’s Family Started a Foundation in Her Name to Spread Kindness
Alaina Housley’s father, Arik, and mother, Hannah, started a foundation after her death called Alaina’s Voice, Pepperdine Graphic reported. The foundation’s website is here.
Arik Housley explained: “Our mission is to inspire hope and kindness through everyday actions, music, education and mental health initiatives. Alaina’s Voice is a bit different because we’re really not asking for gun laws. We’re just asking the world’s leaders, especially America’s leaders, to sit down and say, ‘This is enough.'”
Alaina Housley was a member of her college’s choir and played several musical instruments.
Tamera Housley-Mowry spoke about the foundation on The Real in the 2018 video above. She said, in part:
Our goal is basically to bridge the gap of America. Unfortunately we are divided. And the only way we’re going to see real change is if we’re united. To start change we have to be able to have a conversation. … We need to sit down and extend a hand instead of pointing fingers. … And that is what Alaina’s Voice means. To focus more on our similarities instead of our differences. And to extend a hand and make real change. Don’t just talk about it. Be about it.
The Housleys have also provided scholarships in Alaina’s honor. And today, the Foundation is still spreading joy and kindness in Alaina Housley’s honor.
And a tree was dedicated to Alaina Housley.
The Foundation Has Raised More than $100,000 to Pursue a Purpose of Being Kind to Others
GoFundMe
The Foundation’s initial GoFundMe raised more than $100,000.
The description reads:
Alaina and 11 others lost their lives to senseless violence in Thousand Oaks California Shooting at the Borderline Bar, while wanting to dance. We will raise her voice on behalf of all the other victims of this tragic event and other events like Las Vegas, Parkland, Yountville and more. Her family, friends and community will continue to raise her voice to make people be loving, be together, be in the moment. She may be gone in body, but she will be our voice of song, voice of strength, voice of spirit and our voice of CHANGE. It’s time for change. Its time to advocate for goodness, love and life. It’s time to advocate to our countries leaders to unite us, not divide us. We will raise Alaina’s Voice.
The foundation was recently awarded 501(c)(30 status this year and has a new GoFundMe created on October 7 that you can contribute to here if you want to support the foundation’s mission.
GoFundMe
The GoFundMe reads, in part: “The mission of Alaina’s Voice Foundation is to inspire hope and kindness in our communities through education, music, and mental health initiatives. Within our community we have been a successful bridge therapy option. Helping people find immediate therapy options until they can get permanent support… It is also our honor through Alaina’s Voice Foundation to award scholarships to our youth in hopes that they work diligently to be the positive change in our world.”
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