Last night’s episode of WYPR’s monthly show Future City focused on trauma. One segment included Mark Gunnery’s interview with Cam Kerr, Outreach Organizer and Syringe Service Provider for Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition (BHRC), which uses a trauma-informed approach to provide harm reduction services. OSI has worked closely BHRC and the BRIDGES Coalition, which advocates to establish Overdose Prevention Sites in Maryland.
Kerr says operating with a trauma-informed approach “looks a lot like being kind and being open, a lot of active listening to hear little pieces because not everybody just comes out and says I’m in this traumatizing situation.. and you can move from the act of listening to having an open conversation about what’s going on and then trying to make sure we provide what we can for the traumatized person.”
In another segment, host Wes Moore interviewed City Councilman Zeke Cohen about his work, with OSI support, on Healing City Baltimore, an effort to establish trauma-informed care in Baltimore. The effort has since gone statewide with the passage of the Healing Maryland’s Trauma Act.
Listen to the full show here.