Shooting victims who arrive at St. Paul’s Regions Hospital will soon be met with community members trained to help them move past the violence. Ramsey County recently approved a new agreement between its Healing Streets Project and the hospital.

“It’s one thing to be in a hospital to be receiving the services from the staff, the nurses and stuff like that, but it’s another thing to have vetted community members who have value in community be able to stand at your bedside,” said Danny Givens, the county’s first director of its Transforming Systems Together Initiative. “A familiar face that says, ‘I’m here to support and to walk you through this.’”

Givens understands firsthand what it’s like to be involved in violence and recover from a gunshot wound. He uses his personal history to connect with others as the founder of the Healing Streets Project. The Ramsey County initiative focuses on violence prevention, intervention and healing.

The team responds to crime scenes, works with youth in out-of-home placement, and has had a presence at Regions Hospital’s lobby area to support those affected by violence. The bedside intervention they will soon provide is the next step in that work.

“I feel there’s a golden hour when we have individuals who have been impacted by gun violence and have been blessed enough to survive, to be able to go to that bedside and have a person who has community ties and currency and talk to you and say, ‘I’m here to support you,’” Givens said. “And it’s ongoing.”

He explained teams of two will visit with survivors at their bedside and serve as a liaison between families, medical personnel and police. They will also start working on healing for the person harmed.

“Always ask people who are impacted, ‘What does support look like for you right now?’ knowing that in that moment in Regions Hospital, it will look a certain way, but the next day it can look totally different,” said Mark Campbell, the program director. “Start to begin the process in such an earlier space where people can begin to look at what resources they specifically need.”

Campbell explained the program will be rolled out over the next couple of months after Healing Streets team members and hospital staff go through training.

“The relationship is looked at as a true partnership,” he said.

Regions Hospital said in a statement, “We’re looking forward to collaborating with Healing Streets to support our patients and families affected by group and gun violence.”