Newark's Gun Violence Crisis is Also a Mental Health Crisis

Newark's Gun Violence Crisis is Also a Mental Health Crisis

Identifying the PTSD Epidemic in Our Most Violent Neighborhoods

Last year, the City of Newark, New Jersey experienced 105 homicides, making it one of the deadliest years in decades. Most of the homicides in Newark occur in the South and West Wards of the city where the majority of the residents are black and Hispanic. Indeed, both violent youth perpetrators as well as victims of violence have identical personal characteristics. Both offenders and victims are disproportionately male, black, and from low income, single-parent families. Nevertheless, the staggering violence in some Newark neighborhoods cannot be measured by statistics alone. There are lingering mental health effects on those impacted by the shootings and deaths, and a variety of researchers are reporting some disturbing findings related to psychological trauma. For those people who witness violence or those who are lucky enough to survive a violent crime, they are more likely to engage in violent behavior themselves and/or suffer from mental health problems, such as increased heart rate or chronic sleep disorder.

It is crucial that as a community, we recognize that for every homicide, there is also a victim who has loved ones, a network of friends or family who are left to pick up the pieces after their death. Some may have witnessed the killing and struggle to reckon with those lasting images, let alone the loss itself. Of all the damage done by gun violence in the communities that suffer it most, it may be the trauma related to the exposure to violence that leaves the most lasting mark. These survivors won’t show up in any official tally of the murdered or maimed. But they, too, are injured. Their wounds are often invisible, too deep to bandage, stitch or count. We have yet to figure out a way to tally up what’s been taken from them, the traumatized mass who live each day with the emotional and psychological holes left by those bullets. That trauma, often unrecognized and untreated, can manifest in various ways. People who’ve witnessed repeated acts of violence or have lost people close to them to violent death, can develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder similar to those exhibited by soldiers returning from the battlefield. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a psychiatric disorder that develops in some who have experienced a scary, shocking or dangerous event. Symptoms include re-experiencing the traumatic event (i.e., flashbacks, nightmares), avoidance of thoughts, feelings or places related to the event, feeling tense or irritable, negative thoughts about oneself or the world, or feelings of guilt or blame.

Nevertheless, it’s not just exposure to violence that can affect people negatively. According research, the mere perception of violence and disorder in a community or neighborhood can cause people to exhibit symptoms of PTSD. It can also fuel further victimization and the continued cycle of trauma and violence. A common saying among those who study the ripples of trauma in communities is that hurt people, hurt people. Much of the violence within these communities is driven by untreated trauma rather than being driven by some criminal activity that people are benefiting from. So when you have people that are walking around traumatized, two of the ways that people often deal with that are to use substances to manage their emotions and to carry weapons in order to feel safe. Unfortunately, both of those issues are going to increase the risk for them being harmed again, or for them doing harm to somebody else.

The obvious psychological effects of exposure to violence are chronic and expansive. As we see, community and gun violence affects not only those who are directly involved, but also individuals, families, and communities who endure the constant threat of violence and grieve the unexpected loss of their loved ones. As a community, we are tasked with urgently seeking ways to reduce the myriad overlapping risk factors for violent behavior and symptoms of trauma. In doing so, we cannot casually claim we are going to address trauma but also the trauma symptoms that have a profound impact on human lives.

It is evident that there are large numbers of people who experience significant symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety in Newark who are either unable to access the mental health care system due to the lack of available community resources, lack of insurance coverage, or are reluctant to seek professional help due to stigma and embarrassment. The means to treat symptoms of trauma are limited by the lack of community mental health resources. Yet, it is critical that the psychological effects of trauma are taken seriously and included as part of the discussion of community violence.

It is imperative that we urgently address the root causes of community violence, the behavior and the impact of exposure to violence. Holistic solutions could include integrating PTSD screenings of injured patients into the routine treatment process at hospitals or ensuring that individuals are screened for symptoms through community-based clinics. For people who may have little contact with any health care system except in emergency situations, this might be the only chance to identify people who need treatment early on as well as to measure the overall needs for services across a community. While mental health resources on the community level are crucial, crime victim services also are crucial. They can help educate, support and counsel those who have been exposed to violence, whether directly or indirectly.

Although it would seem as though increased levels of violence in cities like Newark are normal for its residents, no one can truly get used to seeing dead bodies or hearing gunfire, and those stressors have a profound effect on a community’s ability to function. These debilitating symptoms are real and have a profound impact on human lives. Until we recognize and truly realize the cyclical effects of neighborhood disorder, violence and its after effects, the open wounds in our city will never fully heal. Stopping these cycles of trauma starts with an acknowledgment of community violence not as a mere crime problem but rather as a collective social trauma — both a public health scourge and a moral issue.