Community Trauma Response Program
The Community Trauma Response Program was created through a partnership with the National Medical Association (NMA), the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA is the collective voice of African American physicians and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of disparities in health.
This trauma-informed program was designed with the understanding that entire communities can be traumatized following acts of violence. Multiple incidents, such as violent crimes, can cause whole neighborhoods to be in a state of shock. Unfortunately, that shock is magnified when the violence involves law enforcement. It is in these cases that neighborhood residents clearly need support to help build and develop coping strategies to help with their healing.
Utilizing lessons learned from the tragedies in areas throughout the country including Baltimore, MD and Ferguson, MO, among others, the BCSJI and the NMA has crafted a comprehensive plan of action that involves the local government, community-based, civic and social service agencies, the faith-based organizations, local citizens, and law enforcement in an effort to effectively address the community-level wounds generated by these occurrences and create an environment where healing may begin
