Breaking the cycle of violence in the Queen City – that's the goal of trauma surgeons at University Hospital who are launching a new program modeled after one in Baltimore.
9News spoke with the the doctor who started that successful program and explained why he thinks it can work here.
The program starts by getting to shooting victims while they are in the emergency room, where they are most vulnerable, in order to keep them from coming back.
It worked in Baltimore and now organizers are hoping that it works here, too.
As a trauma surgeon, Dr. Carnell Cooper, of Baltimore, got tired of seeing the same gunshot victims come before him – and decided the best time to intervene – was when they were before him.
"Maybe for the first time they are saying, 'I need to change my lifestyle. This is the second, third time I've been shot, stabbed,' etc.," said Dr. Cooper, a violence intervention expert, "Lets have a conversation about that."
That was 10 years ago and today his violence intervention program has been proven successful.
Now it serves as a model for "Out of the Crossfire," a new program started by doctors at University Hospital.
It includes experts in social work, substance abuse, education, jobs, research and medicine.
"Even though we started out preventing recividism to our hospital, we were preventing recidivism to the criminal justice system," said Dr. Cooper, "and we were helping people provide economic support."
So far this year, the emergency room at University Hospital has treated 51 patients for gunshot wounds.
In 2006 there were 311 – compared to back in 2000 when there were 72 gunshot victims for the entire year.
"Our data shows us there are good kids out there who don't have the guidance, the know-how, the self esteem to move forward," said Dr. Cooper. "Give that to them, and you will see results."
Dr. Cooper did caution that his program didn't take off overnight.
It took years for all the different agencies to figure out how to work together to make an impact.
But, he says, it can with community support it can happen here.
The Community Action Agency (CAC), which helps people find housing and jobs, is one group that's taking part in "Out of the Crossfire."
"I think we have all the beginnings of putting our operations together, but there are those far more advanced than we are and we are learning from them," said Gwen Robinson, CAC president.
