Cleveland families who have lost loved ones to gun violence are finding support through local groups like Rivers in the Desert, a nonprofit that provides on-site grief and trauma support. However, the city’s safety net for these families is fractured, with limited and unstable programs available to help them cope with the aftermath of gun violence.

Gun Violence in Cleveland

In 2024, 125 people died due to gun injuries in Cleveland, and more than three times that number visited the emergency room as a result of gun violence. The shootings leave behind hundreds of survivors and thousands of family members who are grieving or dealing with the aftershock of an injury.

Sharri Thomas, who runs Rivers in the Desert with her husband, is working to bring grief and trauma support to the community. The group has two mobile ‘healing’ vans that provide a safe space for people to process their emotions and find support. Thomas believes that the community needs more investment in support services for families affected by gun violence.

Support Services

Some hospitals in Cleveland have trauma recovery teams that provide support to survivors of gun violence, but these programs are often limited and underfunded. University Hospitals has a program that assigns a social worker to children with gunshot wounds, but the hospital no longer receives funding for the program. MetroHealth has a trauma recovery center with a team of coaches who meet with survivors and their families, but the program is primarily funded by a grant that has shrunk in recent years.

Advocates believe that more investment is needed to support families affected by gun violence. Dr. Sarah Sweeney, a family physician who works with local survivors of firearm violence, says that there are many amazing organizations doing incredible work on the ground, but they don’t have enough capacity and there’s not enough sustainable funding for them to be able to broadly provide support.

Original reporting: Signal Cleveland — read the source article.