Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Trauma Recovery Center topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Center for Community Alternatives opens Brooklyn trauma recovery center with $1.2 million from New York City Council
Summary
The Center for Community Alternatives opened a Trauma Recovery Center in Brooklyn funded in part by a $1.2 million allocation from the New York City Council; organizers said the site is the first in the U.S. to center survivors harmed by the criminal legal system and urged sustained funding to expand capacity.
The Center for Community Alternatives on Wednesday opened a Trauma Recovery Center in Brooklyn financed in part by a $1,200,000 allocation from the New York City Council that will allow the center to offer services to survivors of interpersonal and community violence at no cost.
"The Trauma Recovery Center is supported by $1,200,000 from the New York City Council," said Asada Terry, clinical director of CCA's Trauma Recovery Center, at the opening. The center's leaders described the site as built on a nationally recognized model developed at the University of California, San Francisco and adapted to meet needs in New York City.
CCA Executive Director David Conliff said the council's investment and leadership enabled the launch. "Trauma care belongs at the center of public safety," he said, adding that Speaker Adrienne Adams and council partners helped the organization plan and train staff to implement the model locally.
Speaker Adrienne Adams, identified as speaker of the New York City Council, said the Brooklyn TRC "will be the first in the nation to center survivors harmed by the criminal legal system." Adams cited results from existing TRCs in New York state, saying the four centers served nearly 1,200 survivors last year, about 81 percent identifying as people of color and 58 percent as women, and that nearly 70 percent reported improved quality of life after services. Adams and other speakers urged continued, sustained funding to expand the centers’ reach, noting many TRCs operate at full capacity.
Lucy Crisilio, program director of the new TRC, described the center's approach as survivor-centered and culturally responsive, including warm outreach, peer support and trauma‑informed counseling. "We will meet individuals where they are," Crisilio said, emphasizing outreach to people reluctant to engage in traditional therapy.
Board member Carol Edie Porcher offered personal testimony about recovery and tied the need for TRC services to overdose risk, citing a Vera Institute finding discussed at the event that incarceration is associated with increased overdose deaths. "New Yorkers are dying at a rate of 14 people a day from opioid related overdoses," Porcher said, and urged faster action to reduce deaths.
A participant ambassador, David Rodriguez, described his experience with CCA programs and thanked the speaker and council for supporting the center. "It means so much that these services will be offered at no cost," Rodriguez said.
Organizers noted operational challenges: existing TRCs report wait lists of up to two months and staffing constraints that limit capacity. Event speakers framed the new center as part of a broader strategy to treat trauma as essential infrastructure for public safety and said further city and state commitments will be needed to expand services.
CCA invited community referrals and partnerships to help connect survivors to the new center's services. The opening concluded with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and remarks from center staff and civic leaders.
