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