The Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice/Healing Hurt People

Mission

The Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice (CNVSJ) is a collaboration between the Drexel University School of Public Health and Drexel University College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine. CNVSJ works to promote health, nonviolence and social justice through trauma-informed practice, research, professional development, and advocacy for policy change. Healing Hurt People (HHP) is the programmatic component of the center.

Guiding Principles of CNVSJ/HHP

• Trauma causes significant harm to the mind and body.
• Individuals who have experienced trauma are injured and in need of healing.
• Public health and related systems can help create a nonviolent and socially just society through trauma-informed policies and practices.
• Nonviolence is a powerful philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects all forms of violence.
• Social justice embodies the vision of a society that is equitable and in which all members are physically and psychologically safe.
• While the value of our work is universal, we are focused on helping individuals and communities in the City of Philadelphia

Healing Hurt People

Healing Hurt People (HHP) is a community-focused, hospital-based program designed to reduce re-injury, retaliation, and longstanding emotional disruption (PTSD and other stress symptoms) among individuals ages 8-30 in Philadelphia. HHP employs a trauma-informed approach, which takes into account the adversity that clients have experienced over their life course and recognizes that addressing this trauma is critical to breaking the cycle of violence.

Healing Hurt People clients are victims of intentional injury (not domestic violence, parental violence, or sexual violence) and have been treated for their injury at SCHC or Hahnemann hospital. We engage with young people ages 8-30 to address the needs—physical, emotional, and social—that they face after being released from the emergency department.