DeKalb County opening trauma center to help violent crime survivors and witnesses

Ten professionals, including counselors and therapists, will work with those suffering from violence-related trauma. — DeKalb County Government has announced it is opening a trauma center to help violent crime survivors and witnesses cope with the aftereffects.

The center will be based at Emory Hillandale Hospital in Lithonia. It’s the first of its kind in Georgia, and possibly the Southeast.

Channel 2′s Sophia Choi spoke to Emory’s CEO Rashard Johnson, who will head this operation. He grew up in the heart of Miami during the heart of the drug wars. He says he still wakes up screaming from the trauma.

“You don’t forget the bullets flying over your head,” Johnson said. “By the age of 20, I had lost over 25 peers.”

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A JAMA study in 1998 showed that kids who admitted to acting violently had witnessed violence themselves.

“Witnessing violence and being victimized by violence leads to delinquent behavior. It leads to an increase in the probability that a young person who get into violence themselves,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said.

Ten professionals, including counselors and therapists, will work with those suffering from violence-related trauma.

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Thurmond believes this will save lives by preventing more violence.

The center will open in 2023.

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