{"id":5583,"date":"2018-08-10T16:25:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T16:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=5583"},"modified":"2022-08-02T14:37:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:37:38","slug":"gun-violence-trauma-troy-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: the following story depicts acts of violence that some readers may find upsetting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Living in the same neighborhood you grew up in can be a reminder of happy childhood moments, but it can also bring sad or scary memories to mind. Troy* lives in his childhood neighborhood where he also became the victim of gun violence. One day he was crossing the street and was caught in the crossfire of gunshots. A pedestrian who witnessed the shooting called an ambulance and Troy was rushed to King\u2019s County Hospital where he stayed for a few days to recover.<\/p>\n

Troy told a hospital social worker he was concerned with the cost of the treatment and how many days he would have to miss work. The social worker referred him to our Community Program office<\/a> in Brooklyn, that partners with local hospitals as part of our efforts to create better support for all victims of violence<\/a> including young men of color like Troy.<\/p>\n

Troy met with a case manager who explained that New York State\u2019s Office of Victim Services (OVS) offers victims like him the opportunity to apply for financial compensation. They guided him through the process, continued to advocate with OVS on his behalf and OVS covered his medical treatment. The case manager also offered him the chance to receive emotional support, and speak privately about his experience.<\/p>\n

Helping Troy Heal from Trauma<\/h1>\n

Troy eventually felt comfortable talking about how being shot affected him. Troy shared that he witnessed gun violence as a child and has been in emotional pain ever since. Because he had experienced reactions to the trauma of witnessing violence over such a long period, the case manager recommended that he see a therapist at our Counseling Center<\/a>. Our Counseling Center is the only New York State licensed mental health clinic that concentrates solely on delivering trauma-focused treatment for survivors of crime and abuse.<\/p>\n

In therapy, Troy talked about how prevalent gun violence was in his community. \u201cAs a kid, I could tell you the street corner where one of my classmates was killed.<\/em> That still sticks with me to this day. There are certain blocks you don\u2019t\u00a0go.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Images from his friend\u2019s murder came to mind whenever he passed that corner, and with them, feelings of intense fear or anxiety. Sometimes Troy would start sweating, his heart would beat faster, and it was hard for him to focus. The therapist helped him recognize these feelings as trauma reactions. A trauma reaction can happen when the brain perceives a situation as dangerous because it or a similar situation was dangerous before.<\/p>\n

For Troy, seeking help was difficult. \u201cGrowing up where I did\u2026asking for help was something nobody would do. Especially guys, like, it just doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d<\/em> he explained.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To help Troy cope with trauma reactions, the therapist taught him grounding techniques that he could use when feeling overwhelmed. Grounding techniques can help survivors connect to their physical body and stay in the present moment. This technique can help the survivor recognize the experience as a trauma reaction and help the moment feel more manageable. This is one technique that helps Troy cope with the emotional pain caused by both witnessing and experiencing gun violence.<\/p>\n

Troy\u2019s memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, but he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced. As his recovery process unfolds, his experiences are likely to improve. Troy also says he looks forward to living a happy and healthy life with his family.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know has been impacted by gun violence in New York City, please call our Crime Victims Hotline at 866-689-HELP (4357)<\/a><\/h1>\n

* Client names and identifying information have been changed for privacy concerns. The Image used is stock imagery.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":{"id":5584,"alt_text":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community","caption":"","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":1000,"height":667,"file":"2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-150x150.jpg"},"medium":{"file":"The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-300x200.jpg","width":300,"height":200,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-300x200.jpg"},"medium_large":{"file":"The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-768x512.jpg","width":768,"height":512,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-768x512.jpg"},"large":{"file":"The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-1024x683.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-1024x683.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Getty Images\/iStockphoto","camera":"Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT","caption":"African American father with biracial latin american son in backyard","created_timestamp":"1215188140","copyright":"USGirl","focal_length":"75","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.001","title":"African-American father with Latin-American son","orientation":"1","keywords":["Beautiful","African Descent","Male Beauty","Toddler","One Parent","Little Boys","Men","Male","18-24 Months","Making a Face","Mohawk","Cute","15-18 Months","12-18 Months","Young Adult","Adult","Child","Baby","Smiling","Laughing","Waiting","Embracing","Holding","Touching","Fun","African Ethnicity","Mixed Race Person","Latin American and Hispanic Ethnicity","Ethnic","Happiness","Humor","Brown","Blue","Black","Outdoors","Looking At Camera","Cheerful","Human Face","Son","Offspring","Father","Parent","Two Generation Family","Family","Dominican Republic","Front or Back Yard","Swimwear","Casual","Husband","Concepts And Ideas","Lifestyle","People","Modern Life","Families"]}},"post":5583,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg"},"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[294,775,811,547],"class_list":["post-5583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-gun-violence","tag-trauma","tag-ymoc","tag-young-men-of-color","issue-victims-of-other-abuse"],"acf":{"page_header_title":"","page_header_excerpt":"","page_header_image":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/silhouette_hero_image.png","original_url":"","related_initiative_title":"How do we help survivors of crime?","related_initiative_link":"\/get-help\/victims-of-other-abuse\/","related_initiative_link_text":"Learn about our services","featured_posts":[{"ID":5486,"post_author":"13","post_date":"2018-03-23 19:19:12","post_date_gmt":"2018-03-23 19:19:12","post_content":"\"The<\/a>\r\n\r\nMarch 23, 2018<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe CDC reports that within our nation\u2019s cities black Americans are, on average, eight times more likely to be killed by firearms than those who are white. So shouldn\u2019t their stories be central to the anti-gun violence movement?\r\n\r\nWhen violence against boys and young people of color occurs\u2014whether it\u2019s interpersonal, community, or police violence\u2014 they are frequently portrayed as complicit in their own victimization in ways that white victims aren\u2019t. \u201cSometimes the humanity is missing, and they become this statistic. For some, it\u2019s like they\u2019ve never done anything positive in their life. I see it as a binary. You either have this halo effect or this demonizing effect. There\u2019s very little in the middle,<\/em>\u201d says Kimmi Herring, Director of the Brooklyn Community Program.\r\n\r\nThe recent surge in celebrity support and media coverage about gun control activism has been in response to a movement led by mostly white students. Yes, these amazing Parkland students have demonstrated incredible leadership in the face of fear and grief. We applaud them. And we need to acknowledge that black youth have been working toward many of the same goals as Parkland students for generations. Where was the sustained media attention, financial support, or most importantly, compassion, that their peers have recently received?\r\n\r\nStoneman Douglas student Emma Gonzalez agrees and recently tweeted, \u201cThose who face gun violence on a level that we have only just glimpsed from our gated communities have never had their voices heard in their entire lives the way that we have in these few weeks alone.<\/em>\u201d\r\n\r\nPaul Barrett, project manager for Safe Horizon\u2019s Enhanced Service for Boys and Young Men of Color, offers some insight, \u201cOne key lever we can pull is to address our own internal biases that influence the ways that we respond. Our society\u2019s response to the trauma that boys and young men of color experience is<\/em>\u00a0vastly different than our response to their white counterparts.<\/em>\u201d\r\n

Experiencing gun violence, including witnessing it or living in a community in which it happens frequently, can be traumatic and deserves an immediate response. However, young men of color are significantly less likely than other crime victims to seek or find the support needed to heal from these events.<\/h1>\r\nTrauma-focused therapy is hugely helpful to recovering from experiences with violence. But first, it is essential to establish a safe environment. For many survivors of gun violence, this is not yet possible because their daily environment just isn\u2019t safe.\r\n\r\n\u201cFor some people, gun violence is becoming the new normal, and that bothers me a lot,\u201d<\/em> says Barbara Ellis, Director of the Bronx\/Manhattan Community Program. \u201cOn the news, they\u2019ll interview people who say, \u2018Oh yeah I heard the gunshots,\u2019 like it\u2019s nothing,<\/em>\u201d Ellis says. \u201cMany are not prepared to address the psychological impact of being a direct victim and of what goes on in their community. They have to go back to these same communities,<\/em>\u201d Herring adds.\r\n\r\nAt Safe Horizon, we host support groups for clients who have experienced gun violence themselves, or who have lost a loved one. \u201cThe greatest benefit is the reduction of isolation, bringing people together. You\u2019re not alone. We\u2019re providing an outlet and a forum for people to come together, share their experiences, provide tools to manage their grieving process,<\/em>\u201d Herring says. \u201cFor many, those trauma reactions are also survival reactions. They need to be hypervigilant. They need to look over their shoulders. Sometimes they need to sleep with one eye open,<\/em>\u201d Ellis adds.\r\n\r\nD\u2019Angelo McDade, a high school senior from Chicago who met with the Parkland students, said, \u201cMany of our community members and young adults have established a sense of hopelessness and normalized the suffering that comes with gun violence. But they\u2019re ready to see a change.<\/em>\u201d\r\n\r\nA change, indeed, is needed. At Safe Horizon, we are working to change the narrative about boys and young men of color: to humanize their hurt and pain, and to strengthen our own services for them.\r\n\r\nAs this gun control movement continues, let\u2019s be sure to include the experiences of boys and young men of color and communities of color. Let\u2019s not deny their pain through racist framing, or treat it as an afterthought. Let\u2019s see them as we see the Parkland students: worthy of attention and respect as they call for change, and deserving of policy responses that improve their safety.","post_title":"The Unheard Voices from the Gun Violence Conversation","post_excerpt":"The increased media coverage of gun control is important. Now let\u2019s uplift communities of color who for so long have spoken out against gun violence and not been heard.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"unheard-voices-gun-violence","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:47:14","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 17:47:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=5486","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":9730,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-08-02 14:23:31","post_date_gmt":"2022-08-02 18:23:31","post_content":"

Gun Violence Background and Statistics:<\/h1>\r\n\r\nGun Violence has become more prevalent in New York City and across the country. In 2020, there were 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States \u2013 that\u2019s about 124 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day. (CDC 2022)<\/a>. In New York State, there is an average of 870 deaths by gun violence each year. (Everytown 2022)<\/a>.\r\n

The Problem of Gun Violence<\/h2>\r\nMany New Yorkers don\u2019t fully understand the far-reaching impact that gun violence has for survivors and their families and communities. For communities of color and, particularly young boys and men of color, many people don\u2019t know gun violence support<\/a> is available or simply aren\u2019t offered help.\r\n\r\nWhen there is an incident involving a gun, there is an effect on an entire community, not just one person. In the aftermath of a shooting incident, the family members of the person who may have been shot are all affected. Community members who heard or witnessed the shooting are impacted by the trauma of being near a shooting incident, and an individual survivor has to cope with the traumatic aftermath of being shot or shot at. Some people may experience anxiety or fear about leaving their home or walking outside because of the trauma experienced during the shooting. Sadly, often families grieve the loss of a family member murdered.\r\n

Solutions for Gun Violence<\/span><\/h2>\r\nAddressing gun violence in New York City and the country involves changing mindsets of people. We all need to stop thinking this cannot happen to you or someone you care about. The statistics are clear that gun violence can impact people you know. When these incidents occur, it is important not to blame the victims of a shooting for being in the way of a bullet.\r\n\r\nAside from legislation and policy initiatives, people need to understand and appreciate the value of life. It is important to go beyond the idea that we could eliminate guns all together, but rather rethink how we manage conflict. At Safe Horizon we are raising awareness of the factors that contribute to the rise in gun violence. These factors include economic factors, systemic racism, and the environments in which people live.\r\n\r\nWhile we support meaningful and common-sense gun reform policy<\/a>, we also understand that addressing the mental health and economic issues that contribute to gun violence are also important.\r\n\r\nIf you or your family are affected by gun violence, Safe Horizon is here for you.\r\n<\/a>\r\n

Our Programs and Services for Gun Violence Victims in New York City<\/span><\/h2>\r\nSafe Horizon\u2019s mission is to provide support, prevent violence and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse. We help gun violence victims, including families of people murdered by gun violence, in New York City recover from trauma while providing comprehensive services, including counseling, advocacy, and safety planning. We are available to anyone regardless of their immigration status.\r\n

Learn more about our Support Programs:<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\u25cf Crime Victims Hotline<\/strong>\r\nFor help with all crimes, including support for family members of homicide victims, please call our Crime Victims Hotline<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\u25cf Community Programs<\/strong>\r\nIf you are unsure of what next steps to take, visit Safe Horizon\u2019s Community Program<\/a> offices that serve all five boroughs of New York City as they can assist in sharing your options.\r\n\r\n\u25cf Crime Victim Assistance Program<\/strong>\r\nSuppose you need guidance in communicating with law enforcement, reviewing police reports, or filing one. In that case, our Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP)<\/a> works with law enforcement officials to help victims of all crimes. Our CVAP advocates speak 15 languages and can access Language Line if needed. They will also work with victims who do not have legal status in the U.S.\r\n\r\n\u25cf SafeChat<\/strong>\r\nGet in touch with one of Safe Horizon\u2019s client advocates through our live chat online<\/a> platform to receive more information on what steps to take, advocacy, and support. Our chat is available Mon - Fri : 9:AM - 6:PM ET. If you\u2019re in need outside our live chat hours, please don\u2019t hesitate to contact our hotlines<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\u25cf Court Programs<\/strong>\r\nSafe Horizon's Family Court Programs<\/a> and Criminal Court Programs<\/a> can assist victims needing legal guidance.\r\n\r\n\u25cf Counseling Center<\/strong>\r\nThe Counseling Center<\/a> assists victims in healing from intense, debilitating trauma.","post_title":"Support For New York City Gun Violence Victims","post_excerpt":"Safe Horizon offers support for gun violence victims and families in New York City","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"support-for-new-york-city-gun-violence-victims","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-08-13 12:46:49","post_modified_gmt":"2025-08-13 16:46:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":745,"guid":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?page_id=9730","menu_order":0,"post_type":"page","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"title_font_size":"42","sub-headline_placement":false,"custom_scripts":false,"show_author_bio":false},"yoast_head":"\nThe Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community | Safe Horizon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Safe Horizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dana R\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@safehorizon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dana R\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dana R\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a\"},\"headline\":\"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\"},\"wordCount\":644,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gun Violence\",\"Trauma\",\"YMOC\",\"Young Men of Color\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\",\"name\":\"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community | Safe Horizon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/.\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/\",\"name\":\"Safe Horizon\",\"description\":\"Safety. Connection. Healing.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Safe Horizon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Safe Horizon\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/safehorizon\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/safehorizon\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/safe-horizon\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SafeHorizonNY\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Safe_Horizon\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a\",\"name\":\"Dana R\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dana R\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community | Safe Horizon","description":"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community","og_description":"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/","og_site_name":"Safe Horizon","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon","article_published_time":"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dana R","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@safehorizon","twitter_site":"@safehorizon","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dana R","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/"},"author":{"name":"Dana R","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a"},"headline":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community","datePublished":"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/"},"wordCount":644,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","keywords":["Gun Violence","Trauma","YMOC","Young Men of Color"],"articleSection":["Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/","name":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community | Safe Horizon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-10T16:25:18+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T18:37:38+00:00","description":"Witnessing and experiencing gun violence made Troy feel unsafe and anxious. Although his memories of the past can\u2019t be changed, he now has the tools to work through the trauma he experienced.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Impact-of-Gun-Violence-on-Troy-and-His-Community-e1523981214574.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/stories\/gun-violence-trauma-troy-story\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/.\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Impact of Gun Violence on Troy and His Community"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/","name":"Safe Horizon","description":"Safety. Connection. Healing.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#organization","name":"Safe Horizon","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/safe-logo-square.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Safe Horizon"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/safehorizon","https:\/\/x.com\/safehorizon","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/safehorizon\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/safe-horizon","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SafeHorizonNY","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Safe_Horizon"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/863b8a4420ccb4b37ec21128f674a50a","name":"Dana R","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/607834255dfd8abe6829e83748106c53942138baa872e2d858fbb3da6978e5c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dana R"}}]}},"taxonomies":{"categories":[{"term_id":45,"name":"Stories","slug":"stories","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":45,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":72,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":45,"category_count":72,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Stories","category_nicename":"stories","category_parent":0}],"tags":[{"term_id":294,"name":"Gun Violence","slug":"gun-violence","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":294,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":775,"name":"Trauma","slug":"trauma","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":775,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":9,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":811,"name":"YMOC","slug":"ymoc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":811,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":547,"name":"Young Men of Color","slug":"young-men-of-color","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":547,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"}],"issue":[{"term_id":21,"name":"Victims of Other Abuse","slug":"victims-of-other-abuse","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"issue","description":"We help victims of all types of crime and abuse including: robbery, assault, harassment, elder abuse, gang violence, community violence, and families affected by homicide move from crisis to confidence.","parent":0,"count":253,"filter":"raw","acf":{"color":"#868B1A"}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}