With Gun Violence Rising, Grief Counselors Understaffed and Overwhelmed

In the wake of economic, emotional and other losses from the pandemic and lockdown, and now waves of gun violence in cities across the country, mental health professionals providing support for victims and their families are stretched to their limit, reports the Associated Press. President Joe Biden has encouraged states to use COVID-19 relief money to hire police or additional counselors and 15 cities nationwide have joined a federal effort to expand and enhance community violence interruption programs. Groups that provide counseling to victims are applying for grants to hire more counselors to help deal with the fallout of rising violence in cities around the country.

In Philadelphia, for example, there were more than 1,800 people wounded by gunfire and the city has already reported close to 900 gunshot victims in 2021 — 150 more than the same time in 2020. Elinore Kaufman, assistant professor of surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia, said there are two times to three times more gunshot survivors than fatalities at her trauma center. Survivors have increased as trauma treatment has improved. Brett Roman Williams, chairman of the board for the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, which provides counseling services to people affected by violence, said there were 174 people on the waitlist at the end of June, compared with about 30 people at the same time last year. With demand for counselors outpacing supply, those still working are seeing added layers of trauma and revictimization as gun violence increases.