In response to the Old Timers Mass Shooting on July 27, the Brownsville Neighborhood Health Action Center is hosting a series of Trauma and Healing Community Forums at various community centers, senior centers and common spaces across Brownville next week.
The forums will be co-facilitated by two licensed mental health clinicians and are open to local residents or those affected by the shooting. The 90-minute semi-structured forums will allow for discussion around participants' reactions and concerns, but they are also designed to give residents an opportunity to explore strategies for individual- and community-centered healing. Following the forums, light counseling with a community health worker as well as concrete referrals to local mental health services will also be provided.
"The forums aim to create a space for the community to process their reactions, anxieties and concerns about ongoing violence in Brownsville, with a focus on the Old Timers mass shooting," said Dr. Michael Mcrae, director of Mental Health Strategy at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "Once we start to identify and acknowledge the wounds of trauma, we can begin to take concrete steps to heal them, as individuals and as a community."
The first of the three forums will take place on Monday, August 19, 3:00pm, at the Brownsville Houses Senior Center at 528 Mother Gaston Blvd. The second session will follow on Saturday, August 24, 11:00am, at the Van Dyke Houses Community Center; the series will conclude on Monday, August 26, 1:00pm, at Riverway Senior Center at 230 Riverdale Ave.
Brownsville residents who cannot attend the forums but would like counseling can directly contact the Brownsville Neighborhood Health Action Center for referrals to local mental health care and social services. For more information go here.
