Developing a Trauma-Informed, Emergency Department–Based Intervention for Victims of Urban Violence

Abstract

The Surgeon General's report on youth violence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other national organizations are calling for public health approaches to the issue of youth violence. Hospital-based violence intervention programs have shown promise in reducing recurrent violence and decreasing future involvement in the criminal justice system. These programs seldom address trauma-related symptoms. We describe a conceptual framework for emergency department–based and hospital-based violence intervention programs that intentionally addresses trauma. The intervention described—Healing Hurt People—is a trauma-informed program designed to intervene in the lives of injured patients at the life-changing moment of violent injury. This community-focused program seeks to reduce recurrent violence among 8- to 30-year-olds through opportunities for healing and connection. Healing Hurt People considers the adversity that patients have experienced during their lives and seeks to break the cycle of violence by addressing this trauma.

Keywords:

• emergency medical services
• injury prevention/injury control
• public health
• social issues
• trauma

Acknowledgments

Funding for Healing Hurt People is provided by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services and the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the California Endowment. Healing Hurt People is a program of the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at the Drexel University School of Public Health and the Drexel University College of Medicine. Client referrals are made by staff of the Hahnemann University Hospital Emergency Department, which is part of the Drexel College of Medicine, as well as St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.