Healing Hurt People in Chicago: A Case Study Examining the Role of Hospital Violence Intervention Programs in Treating Trauma and Bolstering Resilience for Survivors of Community Violence

Community violence is a pressing concern for urban areas across the country, particularly in Chicago, where there are more shootings and homicides annually than New York City and Los Angeles combined. The vast majority of those injured or killed are young men of color residing in neighborhoods experiencing decades of community trauma, including social and economic disinvestment, segregation, over policing, and school closures. Level 1 trauma centers treat violently injured patients in the intersectional context of historical oppression and contemporary structural failures, while creating opportunity for physical and psychological healing.

In response to high rates of community violence in cities throughout North America, trauma centers have invested in Hospital Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs), utilizing a public health approach to promote healing. While care is initiated in hospitals, patient follow-up support is provided in the community to prevent future violence, involvement in the criminal justice system, reduce mental illness symptoms, etc. As HVIPs proliferate, early research and evaluation indicate positive outcomes. While most programs utilize community members to mediate violence and change social norms, Healing Hurt People Chicago (HHPC) utilizes a social work approach and value base to provide healing centered care, meeting patients initially in the hospital and continuing long term support through the provision of individual and group services in homes and a variety of community settings. HHPC care blends concrete case management with mental health counseling in a relationally framed and resiliency oriented manner.

This roundtable will begin the discussion of how HVIPs operate at the intersection between community violence, systemic oppression, public health, and mental health, and how utilizing social work values serve as the foundation for successful program implementation. Roundtable speakers are frontline workers who will use Healing Hurt People Chicago as a case study, describing the history of the program, the process of replicating and adapting the program in Chicago, and the development of our current model of care. We will summarize HHPC's research and evaluation base, explaining the ways in which we use data to inform program development and maintain iterative processes during periods of program growth, and prompt audience members to share experiences of how their work environments use data to drive innovation in care. The roundtable will culminate with a facilitated dialogue about what we envision being on the horizon for HVIPs. From their varied roles and perspectives, speakers will focus attention on impact and limitations at different levels of practice, such as individual healing from trauma, changing institutional culture, and structural change at the community and city level. In the discussion, we will look to more inclusive, community driven and participatory research avenues for understanding healing and wellness in the aftermath of community violence.

021-->