Addressing Community Needs: the MLK Jr. Community Healing and Trauma Prevention Center
2020 NACo Achievement Award Winner
Los Angeles County, Calif., CA
Best In Category
Contacts
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About the Program
Category: Health (Best in Category)
Year: 2020
The MLK Jr. Community Healing and Trauma Prevention Center (Healing Center) is a dedicated space located within the MLK Jr. Center for Public Health facility in South Los Angeles. It offers community residents a welcoming place to connect with others, participate in free activities, and find resources related to healing and trauma prevention and intervention. The Healing Center concept initially emerged as a strategy from a broader, existing community-based effort to reduce violence in Willowbrook, an unincorporated community in South Los Angeles. Willowbrook residents experience some of the highest rates of trauma and violence in Los Angeles County. After engaging with key community leaders, community members and local agencies, the Department of Public Health worked with its partners to establish the Healing Center. The Healing Center was created to offer a range of relevant resources and a place for community partners to convene and advance the work of community-driven initiatives. In September 2018, the Healing Center opened its doors and began to offer grief and loss support groups, healing arts activities, and self-care and vicarious trauma programs. After its first year, the Healing Center welcomed over 5,400 visits, and to this day the program continues to grow.