Touching Souls By Aaron Burch
Touching Souls By Aaron Burch
“ I’ m frightened by the devil And I’ m drawn to those ones that ain’ t afraid I remember that time that you told me, you said‘ Love is touching souls’ Surely you touched mine”
- A Case of You by Joni Mitchell
“ You’ re going to cry. You’ re going to tear up.” Working as a community health worker for UofL Hospital, Kevin(“ KJ”) Fields Jr. can guarantee that much.
KJ is on the front line against violence in a way that many can’ t imagine. Simply put, his job is to make an emotional connection with recent victims and their families. As he builds each relationship, KJ works to deter future violence, help injured patients out of despondent situations, and potentially enter them into the Pivot to Peace Intervention Network.
Pivot to Peace is a program designed for victims of violence to receive assistance so they may permanently leave a situation affected by violence. With connections at the UofL Trauma Center, No More Red Dots and Peace Education, Pivot to Peace and its collaborators are building a web of empathic care givers, dedicated to helping those who have been gravely injured.
One of more than 30 violence intervention programs across the country, Pivot to Peace launched in 2016. But, in that short time period, the program has allowed the amplification of voices dedicated to peace throughout the city of Louisville. Changing the culture is not as simple as flipping a switch. It takes ingenuity, dedication, and a personal pledge to engage with those who know violence as a second language.
For a majority of Pivot to Peace participants, KJ’ s is the first friendly face they see. Walking into their hospital room within a day or two of a majorly traumatic incident, KJ asks what they need to make the day easier.
“ I’ m the first point of contact to the individual. I explain where they’ re coming from to other health care workers, and I try to steer them towards better choices,” he explained.
Once a victim of violence is safe in the hospital, and they’ ve begun to connect with KJ and the trauma social workers, they are presented with the option to enter Pivot to Peace. For some, it can be a tough sell.“ You have to not only sell Pivot to Peace, but you have to sell yourself,” KJ said.“ If you do that, they may go along with what you ask them to do. I try to get on their level.‘ What’ s going on in your life right now? Are you employed? Do you have children?’ It gets personal. If they have kids, bring the kids into it.‘ You need to be around for your baby girl.’”
For those that say yes, through hard work and dedication, a light exists at the end of the tunnel. Peace Ed’ s Pivot to Peace Project Manager Deborah Barnes-Byers and her connections allow participants access to mental health therapy, skill building, substance abuse treatment, legal services, employment and much more.
“ We treat these participants better than clients, because they aren’ t just clients. They’ re people, and we want to make sure they’ re treated with dignity and respect,” said Barnes-Byers.“ The only thing these individuals have in common is that they were injured. They come from various backgrounds, various levels of personal support. Not every participant is a criminal; many are just victims of circumstance.”
When Pivot to Peace was founded in 2016, the program’ s parameters were strict: gunshot and stabbing victims between the ages of 18 and 34 who lived in a collection of Jefferson County zip codes with the highest rate of violence. But, that focus has expanded, since every neighborhood in the city can have a violent incident take place. KJ doesn’ t play favorites when walking into a hospital room.
“ We always do a soft handoff. I won’ t go visit a new participant until the community health worker introduces me. If they build a relationship, the patient is more willing to accept a new person coming in,” Barnes-Byers explained.“ We help them identify wraparound services in the community. We ask them how they’ d like to change their lives.”
Unfortunately, so many of these people come to the crossroads of bettering their lives only after an act of violence. Some go to Pivot to Peace. Some go to Frazier Rehab Institute. Some just go home. Each has a different injury, a different social status, a different life situation. Some are victims of deliberate acts of violence. Some were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everyone is happy to see a kind face. As UofL Hospital is the only Level One trauma center in the city, KJ’ s work is never over. He estimated that he sees four to six victims of violence every single day.
He marvels at the connection he’ s made with some patients.“ One time a nurse walked in and asked the man I was talking to if I was his brother. We looked at each other for a moment and said‘ yeah.’ That’ s just what it is.”
“ How many times in your lifetime have you heard,‘ I’ m proud of you’? Probably more than these individuals have,” he went on.“ I said it to a patient I was working with. He told me,‘ That means a lot, because I really have not heard that in my life.’ It’ s simple things, which we take for granted, that can mean so much.”
“ KJ has a very unique skill set that you can’ t simply train someone to do. People recognize when care is genuine, and there is a huge comfort in the amount of time KJ gets to spend with a patient. He comes in as a friend, as a family member,” said Annabelle Pike, MBA, Healthy Community and Injury Prevention Manager for the UofL Hospital Trauma Center.
Pike has worked with KJ for years. Their jobs overlap in the space where health care officials hope to make a difference outside the confines of immediate treatment.“ As a hospital, it’ s very difficult to tackle the root causes of what leads to gun violence,” Pike said.“ But, we’ re well positioned to use these difficult moments as a chance to approach people and say,‘ Whatever happened, how can we support you as you recover?’”
In Pike’ s experience, there has recently been a determined push to give trauma centers a more holistic mindset. Treatment isn’ t as simple as“ complete the surgery, recover, live life.” By looking at the whole person, especially one who is personally or indirectly affected by violence, changes can be made in the community.
“ Trauma centers aren’ t just clinical providers anymore,” Pike explained.“ We have people with social science backgrounds, business backgrounds and a whole team of registrars who interpret data. My
4 VITAL SIGNS Volume 13 • Issue 3