Crime survivors and their advocates made the case to a City Council committee Tuesday for a new resource: a free, wraparound service center to aid survivors and family members, called a Trauma Recovery Center.
The center would help address survivors’ basic needs following a traumatic event — like case management for medical, legal, financial and housing issues — as well as connect survivors with mental health care and aid filling out police reports. It could even help victims get compensated through a little-known state program.
“In order to achieve safer communities, the voices of survivors must be included,” said Ariel Jeanjacques, chapter coordinator for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice New Orleans, who has lost several close relatives to gun violence. “I am determined to make sure that survivors like me have the tools that’s needed to heal.”
New Orleans is currently experiencing a spike in violent crime. According to statistics maintained by the City Council, as of Monday, carjackings are up nearly 55% from this time last year; aggravated assaults are up 18%, and aggravated rapes are up 20%.
Historically, most crimes in New Orleans are victim crimes, and the overwhelming majority of New Orleans crime victims are Black, said Simone Levine, a victim advocate, who cited a 2020 report by Court Watch NOLA.
That year, 4,109 violent felonies were reported to the New Orleans Police Department, yet only 529 New Orleans crime victims received compensation from the state’s Crime Victims Reparations program, according to the presentation.
Citing models in California, Texas and Ohio, the presenters said survivors who went to TRCs showed dramatically decreased rates of PTSD and depression symptoms as well as better overall mental and physical health. The programs also reported increased cooperation with police.
Survivors and advocates stressed that a Trauma Recovery Center in New Orleans would help those who fall through the cracks: survivors who don’t report crimes or apply for services, particularly low-income people, young people, people of color and unhoused people.
Rose Preston, another survivor and advocate, said a TRC could have helped her coordinate basic, practical needs after the murder of her husband and his mother — tasks that amounted to huge hurdles when faced with trauma.
“After the murders, I felt crushed by the urgent and practical needs required of me,” she said, adding that she had too many papers to fill out and deadlines to hit — like the one for getting victim compensation — as she navigated the criminal legal system. “I was in such grief and shock that things that were once simple tasks now felt just overwhelming.”
Council members expressed enthusiasm for the idea, saying it is needed and necessary, but had questions about funding.
The presenters said such a center would cost about $1 million a year to operate, and models elsewhere are nonprofits that receive some form of government funding.
Levine said the groups are working to secure state and federal funding, and asked Council members to write letters of support. She also said they hope to partner with existing local entities, like the Family Justice Center and University Medical Center.
At-large Council members JP Morrell and Helena Moreno both championed bills supporting survivors of sexual assault when they served in the state legislature.
Morrell said if New Orleans can establish a Trauma Recovery Center, other Louisiana cities could look to it as a model.
“If we’re successful in getting this done, there is absolutely a need for a center like this in Shreveport, a center like this in Baton Rouge, a center like this in Lafayette,” he said.
