Endeavor Health launches $2M program to support victims of violence

CHICAGO - Armed with a multimillion-dollar grant from the Department of Justice, a Chicago area healthcare system is gearing up to help victims of violence fight some of the aftereffects.

Sylvia Perez has more in this Fox 32 special report.

What we know:

"We know that people who are victims of crime are going to be at much higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder," said Dr. Ramon Solhkhah. "And so, this program is designed to intervene early and help change that trajectory."

Solhkhah is the head of psychiatry at Endeavor Health. He helped write Endeavor to Heal, a federal grant application for their new community violence intervention program.

"It is designed to provide linkage to mental health services for victims of trauma, particularly violence and gun violence," Solhkhah said.

Barriers to care

Solhkhah said that’s because we also know there's a number of reasons why victims of violence often don’t ask for help.

"One is shame and embarrassment. They don’t like to admit being a victim of this sort of crime. Some of it is still mental health stigma in our community. So, people don’t like asking for help and don’t like reaching out," Solhkhah said.

"I probably think the biggest barrier is access. People don’t know these services exist," he added.

How it works

That’s why a dedicated therapist works with doctors and nurses in the emergency room to identify patients who could benefit from this program.

In addition to working with them while they are in the hospital, Solhkhah said the therapist will stay with the patient for a few weeks or months after they leave to help them transition to services outside the hospital.

"I’ve been a victim of gun violence myself," said Darrell Dacres. "Sometimes you just don’t know how to speak up for yourself."

Dacres is a peer navigator with Endeavor to Heal. He's the next person in line to help outpatients in this program.

"We thought it was important as we were designing this grant to partner with a local not for profit, ONE Northside, to help provide that peer navigator, because they are literally in the trenches and on the street with the community and with the peers," Solhkhah said.

Why you should care:

Dacres is also a violence prevention manager with ONE Northside. Having lived - and now working in the trenches - Dacres knows how critical it is to make sure victims of violence know what resources they have access to, sooner versus later.

"Getting to those participants when they need - right when the situation is fresh – that’s the most important time. You catch somebody a week later, a day later, two days later, -- day late, dollar short," Dacres said.

"We see people who aren’t able to get jobs, people who become homeless," said Jesse Hoyt, executive director for ONE Northside. "We have seen across the city of Chicago how some of those numbers have been trending up."

Hoyt said it’s critical for both the victim and the community for the victim to take advantage of this support.

"So, the messenger really matters," Hoyt said. "If you have people who don’t understand the communities where these people are coming from, especially in moments of trauma, it’s going to be really hard to get them to access those resources no matter how good the resources are."

What's next:

Endeavor's grant from the Justice Department is for $2 million over the next three years.

They started offering the program in January on a trial basis at only three of their locations: Evanston, Swedish and Highland Park hospitals.