Three Things To Read This Week

1. Amid Growing Momentum, Three More Trauma Recovery Centers Open Around The Country

Trauma Recovery Centers are a place where crime survivors and their families can connect to mental health, relocation, job resources and more services that they need to achieve stability after life-altering violence. And where they have been established—they are working, “serving the populations the model was designed to support” and “providing a wide range of benefits to their clients and to the broader service community.” Those are the main findings of a new preprint paper—which presents findings from “the first national survey to document Trauma Recovery Center operations and the people they serve”—from New York University Professor Angela Hawken and Sandy Mullins, a senior research scholar at NYU’s Marron Institute.

The full paper—which details a first-of-its-kind survey of Trauma Recovery Centers across the country as of 2022—is worth reading, but here are some highlights of the what researchers found, all of which point to a need to establish more Trauma Recovery Centers and more stable funding for them: 

“Clients present to [Trauma Recovery Centers] with complex and co-occurring disorders, and with extremely high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The most common reasons clients seek the services… are to address trauma stemming from domestic violence, adult physical and sexual assault, and gun violence… Demand for services exceeds current capacity, and 57 percent of [Trauma Recovery Centers] are running a waitlist…

…

Survey respondents are concerned about ongoing funding sustainability… only 14 percent are confident they can maintain their current level of service over the next 5 years… Nearly all (93 percent) report that their funding situation may require them to reduce services in the future and express concern that growing waitlists lead to service delays, which negatively impact their clients and their families...”

Here are three more centers opening around the country to help ensure that crime survivors get the support and resources they need:

• “New ‘One-Stop Shop’ For Trauma Recovery Is the First in Texas.” For The Austin Chronicle, Lina Fisher reports on Austin’s new trauma recovery center—the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center (HTRC)—“where survivors of violent crime can receive clinical case management, psychotherapy, and legal advocacy.” The center, staffed by trained therapists, counselors, social workers, and outreach workers, is funded for two years and set to handle as many as 240 survivors each assigned to a dedicated case worker with whom they will be able to receive up to 32 counseling sessions. But Michael Lofton, the executive director of the non-profit group that runs the center told the newspaper that “no one will be turned away” and that eligibility to receive services from the center for violent crime survivors is broad: “If you've been affected by human trafficking, domestic violence, violent interactions with law enforcement, or even a car crash, you're welcome.” 

• “Sexual Violence Trauma Recovery Center Opens In Scottsdale.” For KTVK, Scottsdale, Arizona’s local CBS affiliate, Mickaela Castillo covers Ruth Place, a “first of its kind trauma-informed program … to help those who have experienced sexual violence.” Camea Peca, director of programming at Ruth Place, explained to the news station that Ruth Place uses “a unique three-phase program that provides both resilience training and tools [through] group therapy and individual sessions… to help survivors understand that trauma is an injury rather than an illness, and like injuries, they can be healed.” 

• “Trauma Recovery Center Opens For Napa County Crime Survivors.” For the Napa Valley Register, Howard Yune reports on The North Bay Trauma Recovery Center opening its doors “to aid local victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking and elder abuse” and provides “mental health services tailored to the needs of those coping with trauma resulting from crime.” The California Victim Compensation Board provided the $2.5 million grant to the center, and also funds 22 other centers around the state to service survivors of violence “who may not be eligible for [the state’s] victim compensation program, or who may be fearful of reporting a crime to law enforcement.”

2. More Cities Upgrading 911 To Provide Real-Time Updates During Calls For Service. 

For 9News, Denver’s local NBC affiliate, Nate Lynn reports on a new program that is making 911 more interactive in cities across the country. 911 call centers are now sending text messages and emails to provide up-to-date information to callers about:

• A first responder’s whereabouts. For example, if they are running late or got pulled onto another call;

• Case numbers, so that victims can more easily follow up with the police or to file an insurance claim; and

• Updates on the investigation, whether an arrest has been made or if the case has been closed, for example. 

Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas explained to the news station that the new program is similar to the “alerts about the shipping or delivery of items you purchased from an online retailer” to help the city “improve communication and service for residents.” 911 call centers in cities like Madison, Wisconsin, Bakersfield, California, Battle Creek, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah have also upgraded to the innovative messaging platform. Check out this Salt Lake City flowchart to see how the new system works:

3. NEW STUDY: Chicago’s Community Violence Intervention Program Led To “Large Reductions In Gun Violence.” 

A new study from a team of researchers from Northwestern University examined the outcomes of 324 men who participated in the Chicago CRED program—a community violence intervention program that includes comprehensive wrap-around services—between 2016 and 2021 and found that the men who completed the full 24-month CRED program were “more than 73% less likely to have an arrest for a violent crime in the two years following enrollment compared to individuals who did not participate.”

Related: This summer, 86 Chicago CRED participants—“who were recruited because they were most at risk of shooting or being shot”—earned their high school diplomas. Chicago CRED’s success in the city has also opened up job opportunities for graduates of the program, as Bob Karr, the senior vice president at Chicago's iconic Blommer Chocolate Company, explained in a recent opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune:

“Over the years, we’ve hired more than a dozen Chicago CRED graduates. We are one of more than 40 companies in 17 industries that have hired CRED grads, and we will keep hiring them because they are hardworking, talented and hungry to succeed. They are desperate to do something with their lives… Business leaders cannot sit back and hope that others will solve crime. Our hardworking police enforce the laws to the best of their ability. Organizations like Chicago CRED give young people at risk the guidance to choose a pathway out of danger. But we can give them a paycheck and a career.”