Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE 11 Q Q A A If a person is suffering from mental illness, is there any community-based prediction or prevention approach that might help avoid gun violence? It’s important to understand that most people suffering from a mental illness are not dangerous. But for those whose risk of violence is compound- ed by a serious mental illness contributing to suicidal thoughts or undue perceptions of threat or persecution, or for any person experiencing acute psychological distress and/or an over- whelming sense of desperation, ready access to quality mental health treatment can often prevent gun violence. Policies and programs that identify and provide treatment for all persons suffering from a diagnosable mental illness or even a sense of acute distress and desperation that is not a mental disorder should be a national priority. Unfortunately, the current level of access to quality mental health services in this country— including clinicians who are adequately trained in effective violence risk assessment and management—is woefully insufficient. Can you talk a bit more about prevention measures? What are they? Yes. Prevention must begin long before a person with a gun walks into a school or shopping center, fires during a street encounter, or pulls the trigger during a suicide. Prevention takes place at three levels. Primary prevention measures broadly seek to promote healthy development for all children, such as curricula to teach children social skills and resolve conflicts without violence. It would also include promotion of legal, safe and re- sponsible gun ownership. Secondary prevention targets members of groups who are at elevated risk of violence, including gun violence. This would include community-based interventions such as Cure Violence and other programs that work with higher risk individuals in communities with high rates of violence to diminish those rates. Tertiary prevention measures are for persons who have already behaved violently to reduce the likelihood that they will do so again. These would include research-based responses to juvenile and young adult violent offenders. Fatimah Loren Muhammad, a 2015 graduate of 91�㽶��Ƶ�������� with an MA in Global Mental Health, is now the Director of the Trau- ma Advocacy Initiative of the Equal Justice USA (EJUSA). In her position, Muhammad, who specialized in trauma in adolescents, adults and communities of color, is focused on reform- ing the criminal justice system by first bringing together criminal justice reform advocates, psychologists and public health professionals to talk about trauma and its role in the lives of both survivors of crimes, offenders and first responders. The goal—to build a trauma-in- formed justice system using a public health lens. EJUSA began this process after years of working with hundreds of crime survivors, largely families of murder victims, and finding that their needs (from unaddressed trauma to financial challenges) had gone unaddressed in the justice system, contributing to cycles of violence and incarceration. Using her expertise in coalition building, Muhammad is incorporating trauma interven- tion into the criminal justice reform agenda to make the important link between trauma, victimization, race, and mass incarceration. Recently, Muhammad facilitated a White House conference of the Domestic Policy Council where experts from many institutions, including Dr. Robert Kinscherff from 91�㽶��Ƶ��������, and federal depart- ments discussed race, trauma and the cycle of violence. And, she continues to organize train- ing programs to address consistent, persistent trauma—even generational trauma—to secure funding for solutions that support resilience among both victims and offenders. “I’ve talked to so many individuals plagued by terrible, persistent trauma,” she says. “It’s time to generate more ideas and more funding to stop this cycle.” ALUMNA FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF TRAUMA IN VIOLENCE