Healing Hurt People

Healing Hurt People (HHP) is the cornerstone program of the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice. HHP is a community-focused, hospital-based program designed to reduce reinjury and retaliation among youth ages 8-30. The program is affiliated with the Emergency Department (ED) at Hahnemann University Hospital and the Drexel University College of Medicine. In the Fall of 2009, HHP was expanded to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children to reach young victims of violence age 8-21.

HHP is part of the National Network of Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs.

Healing Hurt People works with clients who are seen in the ED for intentional injuries (gunshot, stab, or assault wounds). The program was conceived by an interdisciplinary team consisting of an emergency physician, an internist, a psychiatrist, a social worker and a psychologist with extensive expertise in violence prevention and trauma. HHP was designed to address the needs—physical, emotional, and social—that victims of violence face after being released from the emergency department.

Often, individuals who have been violently injured have reported that while in the emergency department, their thoughts are to either change their way of life or to retaliate. Most often these youth return, without any supports, to the hostile environment in which they were injured. Healing Hurt People uses a trauma-informed approach to capitalize on this potentially life-changing moment and address the needs of these youth by providing connection to resources such as:

medical follow-up
emotional support for post-traumatic stress
mentoring
working with schools to help students affected by school violence
housing
substance abuse treatment
recreation
legal services
after-school program referral
job training and placement
parenting education and support

Healing Hurt People core staff:

Dr. Theodore Corbin, Director
view bio | tcorbin@drexelmed.edu

Linda Rich, Program Research Director
view bio | lrich@drexelmed.edu

Dionne Delgado, Injury Prevention Coordinator
view bio | ddelgado@drexelmed.edu

Leigh Jamison, Community Intervention Specialist, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
view bio | Anna.Jamison@drexelmed.edu

Tony Thompson, Community Intervention Specialist, Hahnemann/Drexel College of Medicine
view bio | Hugh.Thompson@drexelmed.edu

Evan Weiner, Assistant Director, Healing Hurt People, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
view bio | Evan.Weiner@drexelmed.edu

Associated staff:

Dr. John Rich, Director, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice — view bio

Dr. Sandra Bloom, Co-Director, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice — view bio

Solomon Evans, Research Coordinator, Health Management and Policy — view bio

Beverly Haas, Administrative Assistant, Health Management and Policy — view bio

Jonathan Purtle, Research Associate, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice — view bio

The staff at HHP seeks to develop an ongoing connection and to serve as mentors to help clients discover more positive paths in life. The role of the Injury Prevention Coordinator is also to educate various medical and emergency department staff about a trauma-informed approach to working with victims of violence. Ongoing in-services are conducted with hospital department personnel (such as social work staff, inpatient trauma team and psychiatric unit) and quarterly presentations are led for residents in which clients may convey their traumatic experiences and the services that have helped them. This educational initiative is anticipated to expand to ongoing trauma-informed professional development curricula for hospital and social service providers.

There are plans to incorporate a follow-up health clinic for clients in the program to ensure that their post-emergency medical issues are addressed. Many clients do not have ongoing relationships with primary care doctors and are reluctant to follow up with other health care issues. A follow-up clinic will allow for continuity of medical care while also presenting opportunities for clients to connect with and support each other.

Through the Healing Hurt People program, a prototype for other level 1 trauma centers in urban settings may emerge so that victims of violence may heal in a comprehensive and compassionate manner. In this way, a “Best Practice” model may be developed that outlines the approach and steps to creating similar programs across the country.

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Mud Run 2010

In July 2010, Healing Hurt People staff and clients participated in the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run event, which featured 5K and 10K off-road courses filled with military-style obstacles, cargo climbs, and, of course, mud -- lots of mud! Participants raced alongside local military personnel, public safety officers and police academy trainees, all while supporting our troops through Operation Gratitude.
(photo, from right: staff Dionne Delgago and Tony Thompson with HHP clients)

WHYY's Morning Edition - interview with
Dr. Theodore Corbin, Director of Healing Hurt People

Listen online.

Healing Hurt People featured by WHYY's Maiken Scott

90.9 WHYY's Behavioral Health Reporter, Maiken Scott, recently featured a piece about Healing Hurt People. The segment includes interviews with HHP staff and clients and highlights the work of the program in providing resources and support for young people who have experienced violent injury. Listen to the podcast.

WHYY's behavioral health news reporting is supported by a grant from the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation.

HHP staff work with youth in the Emergency Department (ED) in an effort to reduce retaliation, reinjury and potential connection to violence and crime. 

When a patient is seen in the ED for intentional injury, after wounds are treated and the patient is cleared medically, the hospital staff contacts HHP. HHP’s Injury Prevention Coordinator and Community Intervention Specialist then engage the patient to assess whether he/she would benefit from receiving assistance in bridging services, such as receiving psycho-social therapy or other post hospital care.

Next, staff makes sure the patient has a safe place to go upon discharge and contacts a referral service for the patient. 

Follow-up is made through phone calls and scheduled home visits after discharge to ensure the client has successfully connected to the referred support service. Scheduled home visits by the Community Intervention Specialist and/or Injury Prevention Coordinator continue on a periodic basis to ensure progress. 

In some instances, HHP staff serves as the navigator for the patient to the various support services. Weekly reviews are conducted with the interdisciplinary team to ensure function of the program and management of occasional difficult cases.

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

Read about the expansion of Healing Hurt People to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

S.E.L.F. Psychoeducational Groups

HHP clients have been engaged in weekly S.E.L.F. psychoeducational groups that address the domains of Self, Emotions, Loss, and Future. The S.E.L.F. curriculum is based on the trauma-informed Sanctuary model. To learn more, click here.