Trauma Healing Response Network describes post-shooting support, partnerships with RPD and VCU

Lorraine Wright, violence prevention program manager for the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, told the Education and Human Services Standing Committee that the Trauma Healing Response Network engages families in the immediate aftermath of firearm injury or death and connects them to short-term case management and long-term resources.

The presentation matters because the network combines crisis intervention, intensive case management and the use of credible messengers to deliver timely services and to try to prevent retaliation and further violence, officials said.

Wright said the network was created in 2021 through a partnership among Richmond City Council, the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and the Richmond Behavioral Health Foundation as fiscal sponsor. "We engage impacted families in the immediate aftermath of a firearm injury or death," Wright said, describing the program as “trauma informed” and “healing centered.” She told the committee the network now convenes 53 community partners offering housing, food, mental-health support and education referrals.

Wright provided program figures for the current fiscal year: more than 3,400 community wellness checks, outreach that reached nearly 9,000 residents through mentoring and events, and more than $36,000 dispersed in emergency assistance to impacted families. The network said it provided emergency housing to 16 families, including four permanent relocations, and engaged 37 high-risk cases aimed at preventing retaliation-related violence.

Wright described an incident-response protocol the network finalized in February 2025 with the Richmond Police Department and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to coordinate medical response, victim assistance and follow-up services without impeding investigations. She said the network has strengthened partnerships with mental-health providers, added the Richmond Association of Black Social Workers, and deepened collaboration with Richmond Public Schools through site-based work at schools including MLK and Huguenot.

The program also launched a community "Stop the Bleed" campaign to teach bystanders how to control life-threatening bleeding; Wright described a recent demonstration by a student who learned the technique.

Council members asked for further detail about where in the city the network works and for a full set of the numbers Wright cited; Wright said staff will follow up with location data and other metrics. Councilwoman Jones asked for the numbers and geographic breakdown to inform future resource deployments; committee staff recorded a follow-up assignment to convene that information.

Wright invited committee members to a pop-up event in Creighton Court next Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. and said the network had recently held events in Wickham Court and other neighborhoods.

The committee recorded the presentation and staff noted a follow-up to request the network’s neighborhood-level deployment data.