Reimagining Perceptions of Safety & Protection After a Violent Firearm Injury

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

Abstract

How does one imagine or reimagine their understanding of safety and protection after surviving a firearm injury and returning to the neighborhoods in which they were harmed? Every year, approximately 85,000 Americans survive a firearm injury, however, firearm violence continues to disproportionately impact young Black men. Experiencing community firearm violence has lasting emotional, legal, physical, and financial impact on survivors and their families. Ten Black men enrolled in a hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP) in Northern New Jersey were interviewed to understand how they perceive safety and protection post firearm injury. This study highlights survivors’ evaluation and re-evaluation of safety and protection. Key findings include: 1) Firearm/Weapon Carrying, 2) Structural Barriers to Safety and Protection, and 3) Coping. Recommendations highlight the need for intervention and future research to focus on the availability of culturally competent services that can improve safety and post hospital care of violently injured Black men.

Author

• Nazsa S. Baker, Rutgers University