 The Marla Becker Scholarship
Healing Hurt People - Chicago The Marla Becker Scholarship, funded through NNHVIP, provides free training for one new or emerging Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIPs) each year. This year was stiff competition with 11 strong applications from across the country - all of them doing important work in violence prevention. The 2014-2015 Marla Becker Scholarship winner, Healing Hurt People-Chicago (HHP-C), is an HVIP in one of the most impacted communities in the country. Modeled after the Philadelphia group of a similar name, Healing Hurt People-Chicago is based out of Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago and the Cook County Trauma Unit at John Stroger Hospital, the only public facility with a mandate to treat the thousands of gunshot and stab victims in the Chicago area every year. Patient and Family Support Coordinator, Andy Wheeler, described the motivation for providing care on a more sustained level, "My desk is right across from where patients come in the doors. Seeing so much interpersonal violence, we want to stay connected with patients once they leave the hospital and start building a relationship to set a foundation for future care and needs assessment." Beyond treating trauma patients and providing services such as assisting with schooling, or helping situate clients with employment; HHP-C hopes to become involved in advocacy issues related to gun violence and gun control in urban spaces. "You can do as much as you want to help people heal from trauma, avoid incarceration and gun violence. But without making an impact on a policy level, by limiting access to guns and increasing access to good schools, we won't address the root of the issue," explains Wheeler. In addition to providing care, HHP-C partners with several organizations in the Chicago area to ensure a smooth hand-off of treatment for patients and their families. Sustained partnerships throughout the city will be a great asset in providing wide-ranging services and creating an immersive environment of care for survivors of gun and blunt force trauma. It truly takes a network of resources and services to address the needs of clients, and we are extremely confident that HHP-C will uphold the high standards of treatment and care that embody the Marla Becker Scholarship Award. The application period for next year's award begins in September of 2015. The Marla Becker Scholarship award recognizes efforts by new or emerging programs to implement hospital-based or hospital -linked violence intervention around the nation, by providing two days of technical assistance. To learn more, visit the NNHVIP website here. | 
