New Oregon program will provide counseling services for victims, families of gun violence
By Simon Gutierrez
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — With a record-setting year when it comes to gun violence in the city of Portland, Multnomah County is looking to disrupt the cycles of violence through counseling.
With each shooting in Portland, there is collateral damage. Grieving families whose loved ones have been injured, or worse, killed. Grief that can turn to anger.
“What we know about people who have experienced trauma, or what I hear all the time is ‘hurt people hurt people.’ Right? So if you’ve experienced pain, you’re more likely to act out in pain, unless we can address that pain,” said Julie Dodge, Interim Director of Behavioral Health.
With that in mind, Multnomah County is investing about $1.5 million from the American Rescue Plan in starting up a Gun Violence Behavioral Health Response Team. The program will include three clinicians that will offer counseling services for families impacted by gun violence.
“What we see when folks don’t process their healing and don’t acknowledge the trauma that’s been in their life is that it doesn’t just go away. It like resurfaces in different ways into adulthood,” said Yolanda Gonzalez, Director of Clinical Services.
Gonzalez says she’s done this work on the ground herself and seen the investment in families make a difference.
“A lot of times, our mental health providers can provide a lot of hope for families, like that there is a hope for change, or there’s hope for healing, or hope for the future for themselves or their children,” she said.
The team of clinicians will work with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office to reach families who might be in need of help, with the hopes that healing and hope can stop the next round of violence before it starts.
“To really partner with these families and welcome them into a healing space, and then it’s walking alongside of them,” Gonzalez said. “Grief and trauma and pain is not linear. And so it’s really just showing up and meeting them where they’re at and seeing what their needs are around it all.”
Along with the response team, the county is also investing roughly the same amount of money in its Community and Adolescent Health Team. That program will focus on outreach in priority neighborhoods and offer community-based mental health services for children and families.
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