HJNO Mar/Apr 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  MAR / APR 2024 25 On the center's website, there's a quote inspired by the Greek poet, Dinos Christianopoulos,"They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds." What does that mean to you? Coming up with a name for the center was not an easy task. I was thinking about it for months and months, and everything I could come up with just felt like it didn't really do the work justice. It didn't honor, fully, the trauma survivors that have come and entrusted us to walk with them on their journey. It's really tough work that they do. And then the work that the providers are able to do, the space that they hold for all of this trauma and the families who have come because they've lost a loved one to trauma ... It seems impossible as I'm saying it. Then I heard this quote and immediately knew “seeds” had to be in the name because it just felt like the anti-racist and social jus- tice principles the trauma recovery model is based on. I really see the layers of trauma that people come in with, including racial trauma, and ways that they've been marginalized or harmed by society. To watch people over- come such unimaginable odds is an incred- ible privilege that I have. But when I think of seeds, I think of the future generations of New Orleanians, I think of the trauma and crime survivors, I think of the providers who plant seeds of hope and change with their patients here in this center and find the light through the worst of times and the worst of experiences. It's pretty remarkable. I'm very fortunate to be in this position where I get to witness some of the best of humanity, and I think people probably would not understand how that could be as a trauma psychologist, but it's true. Every day, I get to witness that. There is something about this city.The people of New Orleans have shown time and time again that, even in the wake of adversity, our vibrant spirit and deeply rooted culture will always find the light and regenerate. Thanks for what you're doing. Good luck. n It's hard to answer that question. I would say, if you're asking me personally, of course when you get momentum, you want to con- tinue that momentum and make the biggest impact and reach as many people as possi- ble. We hope to get, one day, federal funding for the center, which has happened in a lot of other states that have trauma recovery cen- ters. It's very possible. With that would prob- ably come an expansion. We ideally hope to one day have some satellite clinics through- out New Orleans to, again, reduce barriers so people don't have to come to UMC to get their care but can go to the neighborhood clinic that they feel more comfortable going to or that's closer to their house and easier to get to. Long term, that would be wonderful. I would also like to add some more program- ming for the healthcare workers here and at other facilities to really support the work that they're doing with individuals who've been traumatized. What has surprised you most in your position in helping start this center? I don't know if it's surprising. It's just really rewarding to get to know various people from the community who really appreciate and support the work that we're doing and to see our team that's come together over the past few months bring their unique selves into this work and this mission. Some are peo- ple who've been impacted by generations of trauma in the city but have hope in what's to come and believe in our mission to heal trauma and to break these cycles of violence and trauma in the city. It's really inspiring to all come together and work side by side on this mission. I think, too, just the fact that we did it. This was a conversation that I had with Julie Ford and Rose Preston, two crime survivors, a cou- ple of years ago about the need for doing this. The fact that it happened is still kind of sur- real to me. It gives me hope for the future of the city, and as a native of New Orleans this is more than just work to me. a victim of a crime in Orleans. However, we can see anyone. It doesn't even have to be in the greater New Orleans area, just someone in Louisiana. They don't have to have insur- ance, but sometimes they can get financial assistance from crime victim reparations or other sources. We are working on trying to build those funding sources so that people don't have finance as a barrier. We do take insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare; and we have casemanagers who can help people file for disability and other forms of assistance, which is why this wraparound model is so critical — so that those things don't get in the way of someone healing from their trauma. But for right now, the funding for free services is specific to the crime survivors in Orleans. Will you be implementing telemedi- cine for people who can't get to the center or that are living outside of the area? We definitely do that. We've been doing that since the pandemic. Psychedelics have reemerged as a form of therapy that is making huge leaps in treatment of depression and trauma. Is your center using these methods, and, if so, what impact have you seen? We are not. There have been some discus- sions at our teammeetings about potentially getting a research trial started, but nothing definitive. For now, we're just trying to get the trauma recovery model implemented in the center and all of our staff feeling ready. They've been trained, and they're just getting comfortable in their roles. From there, we'll start expanding to see, "Okay, now how can we take this to the next level?"We are always looking to meet the needs of those we serve and strive to expand and advance our care accordingly. Speaking of expansion, are there potential expansion goals with this center?