Devon Gibson was shot five times in a drive-by shooting. Though he healed physically, his trauma still manifests itself in paranoia and dreams about the shooting, pointing to the need for post-care counseling for victims of gun violence.
of gun violence experienced trauma from being shot. Additionally, the data shows that residents of the poorest neighborhoods are 6.9 times more likely to be victims of gun violence than those in better-off areas., including insomnia, depression, nightmares or flashbacks, alcohol or substance abuse, and an inability to concentrate, among others.
The Healing Hurt People team consists of a program manager who is a clinical social worker, two social workers and a pair of intervention peer specialists who have gone through the program. Together, they identify victims of gun violence and offer them “trauma therapy,” which includes behavioral counseling, youth assessment and other social-work-related services to help patients heal from their trauma. This includes making home visits and group counseling.
“After I got shot, I was going through depression,” McCorey said. “I had a feeling of hopelessness. I wasn’t able to sleep much. I was withdrawn, and if I closed my eyes I saw gunfire.”