SUPPORTING SCHOOLS IN IMPLEMENTING TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACHES
In 2012, the New Orleans Health Department worked with New Orleans’ schools to create a process that links schools with counseling and victim assistance resources following a student-involved homicide. The Health Department has coordinated responses to 48 student-involved homicides and other traumatic events involving public school students, ensuring that schools have the critical resources that they need to respond to students' grief and trauma.
Building on this, the Health Department, in partnership with local experts in trauma, launched a learning collaborative in 2015 to support schools in implementing trauma-informed approaches. This collaborative effort is providing assistance for five schools to become trauma-sensitive schools — aware of the prevalence of trauma and capable of responding to traumatized students’ unique needs.
WHY PART OF MURDER REDUCTION STRATEGY
Exposure to violence is damaging to youths' growth and development and increases the likelihood for involvement in violence later in life. Schools can play an important role in providing aid to students who are experiencing psychological trauma, thereby preventing future violence.
Risk/protective factors addressed: High emotional distress; exposure to violence; commitment to school; deficits in social cognitive or information-processing abilities