We Can Heal Ourselves: Peer Healing Circles for Black Men Survivors of Violent Firearm in Baltimore

• In Event: Gunshot Survivorship: Navigating Personal Care, Family, and Safety

Abstract

Black men survivors of violent firearm injury often suffer from multiple systems of traumatic stress that impact their short and long-term mental health and quality of life. Despite gun violence persistently remaining the leading cause of death and disability among young Black men, and the disproportionate overrepresentation of this population among survivors of nonfatal firearm injury, little is known about culturally responsive mental health support models for Black male survivors of firearm violence. The Sanctuary Model (2013) and M-TREM (Men’s Trauma Recovery Empowerment Model) have been identified as promising mental health and cognitive behavioral therapy models for Black men survivors of intentional firearm injury, however, there is no gold standard for healing the trauma experienced by this population. Peer healing circles are a promising model for addressing the psychological and emotional healing process for Black men survivors of violent firearm injury. Furthermore, peer healing circles provide the agency and autonomy for participants to collectively lead and heal each other. Using focus groups, interviews, participant observations and digital storytelling this presentation describes the impact of a virtual peer healing model for violently injured Black men in Baltimore.

Author

• Joseph Richardson, University of Maryland