Integrating trauma-informed services in out-of-school time programs to mitigate the impact of community gun violence on youth mental health

Abstract

Community gun violence disproportionately impacts youth in low-income urban neighborhoods. Integrating trauma-informed mental health care in community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs is an innovative method of service delivery for these youth. This article provides justification for integrating evidence-based, trauma-informed services in OST programs within communities characterized by high rates of violent crime to minimize the impact of violence exposure on youth mental health. We describe the initial feasibility of a model program, the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Initiative, implemented in a small city in southeastern Pennsylvania. Within the first six months of the VIP Initiative, 95 community residents (90% under age 18; 51% Hispanic) received intervention services, primarily through single-session and short-term weekly group intervention in OST programs, and 80% of OST youth development staff participated in at least one trauma-informed professional development training. Recommendations to enhance and expand the delivery of trauma-informed services in the novel setting of OST programs are provided.

Keywords:

• community violence
• trauma-informed care
• out-of-school time
• academic-community partnership
• evidence-based practice

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge our out-of-school time partners who contributed to the development of the Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative described in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency under Grant 2021-VI-VI-36606 to the first author.