Following Supervisor’s Resolution, Department of Public Health Unveils Trauma Response Protocol for Communities Following Fatal Shootings

SAN FRANCISCO — At a hearing called by Supervisor Preston, the Department of Public Health (DPH) today officially unveiled the City’s first plan to proactively reach out to neighbors to offer trauma counseling following a shooting. Currently, the City reaches out to victims and their families, but neighbors and friends are left to fend for themselves, despite the severe trauma that many experience when there is gun violence in their neighborhood. Under the new protocol, DPH will hire a Gun Violence Healing Response Outreach Coordinator, do outreach to impacted community members within 72 hours.

“We had a mom come to our office with her young son, completely traumatized with a bullet still lodged in their wall, and they’re afraid to go outside,” said Preston. “We’ve had sobbing friends who can barely tell their story because they are so traumatized by fatal shootings. They are coming to our office in grief, pain, and shock, and yet nobody from any Department has proactively reached out to them. Our City has resources to help, including trauma counseling, but until now, there was no protocol to proactively reach out to community members after a shooting.”

Preston’s Resolution was introduced in May 2022. It called on DPH to create a draft protocol to ensure the City reaches out to residents immediately after a shooting has occurred to offer resources, rather than waiting to be contacted by people who know how to navigate and request services. The Resolution specifically urged proactive outreach “within 72 hours of the incident of gun violence, through flyering, phone calls, community events, or other means of reaching people within a one-block 14 radius from the incident to notify community members of available trauma counseling resources.” The legislation was passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors on June 21, 2022.

The protocol released by DPH incorporates many of the suggestions in the resolution, and also includes partnering with providers to provide information about available resources and referrals to mental health, wellbeing, healing, and psychological first aid. The full proposed protocol is available for review online on Legistar.

Gun violence is a nationwide crisis and a persistent reality in San Francisco, disproportionately impacting low-income Black and brown communities. The Center for Disease Control has long recognized that communities dealing with shooting-related trauma can experience significant physical injuries and mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, untreated trauma related to community violence may also lead to increased risk of developing chronic diseases when concerns about violence prevent residents from walking, bicycling, and using parks or other recreational spaces in their neighborhoods.

Although the Department of Public Health, Street Violence Intervention Program, and other partners provide wraparound services for direct victims of gun violence, including immediate family, until now no protocol existed to ensure that other affected community members have access to mental health services or counseling. Countless residents impacted by gun violence in their communities are unaware that they can access trauma counseling services through the city.

Ericka Scott, Director of Projects for the San Francisco African American Arts & Cultural District, referred several community members to the District 5 office following traumatic shootings in the Western Addition, and provided input on the resolution that was passed by the Board of Supervisors. “All too often, Black families are faced with poverty, neglect, and hopelessness. Tragically, this leads to death more often that is imaginable and people start to see this as normal both inside and outside of our communities,” stated Scott. “Systems of support for entire communities are essential to spark healing and real change. A plan that prioritizes outreach is a step in the right direction.”

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