The study surveyed 92 children and 64 caregivers who were participating in the program at the time—52% responded to the questionnaire, leading to the results published in .

Students in the (SNMA) worked closely with UofL Health trauma surgeons and to create the Future Healers Program in 2020. The program helps Louisville youth who have been affected by violence to navigate the trauma, and inspires them to build a better future for themselves and their communities by introducing them to opportunities in the medical field. The partnership has brought more than 100 kids to the program, and its success has inspired Vanderbilt University Medical Center to replicate the initiative in 2023.

The study found that children and their caregivers with significant exposure to gun violence had a positive overall perception of the health care community, a compliment to the longtime goal of the Future Healers founders.

Louisville has seen a significant increase in gun violence within the last decade. The health care response from the , paired with the Future Healer Program, aims to create hope for the kids in this community.

Future Healers, created in part by students at the UofL School of Medicine, builds relationships with children who have been impacted by gun violence.

Students in the UofL Student National Medical Association (SNMA) worked closely with UofL Health trauma surgeons and Christopher 2X Game Changers to create the Future Healers Program. It ultimately helps Louisville youth affected by violence to navigate the trauma and inspires them to build better futures for themselves and their communities by introducing them to opportunities in the medical field.  

A ceremony on Tuesday, May 9 honored the medical students and showed appreciation for the time and effort they put into building the curriculum and stimulating a real impact on these kids and teenagers. Karen Udoh, who has served as a leader and voice of the Future Healers Program, was recognized with a special send off as she heads to Baltimore to start her residency with the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine. Udoh will remain a part of Future Healers as an advisor.

Since October of 2020, the partnership has brought over 100 kids to the program.

Louisville has seen a significant increase in gun violence in the last decade, including two mass shootings in the last month. The health care response from the UofL Hospital – J. David Richardson Trauma Center, paired with the Future Healers Program aims to create a hope for the kids in this community.

The $85,200 grant was awarded by the Jewish Heritage Fund to Whitney/Strong, a non-profit focused on responsible gun ownership and finding common ground solutions to end gun violence. Working alongside UofL SPHIS on the research is the Louisville Metro Office of Safe and Health Neighborhoods.��

“Gun violence is a tragic product of structural violence ingrained in our community’s historical and current context. We are hopeful that a clear, data-driven illustration of the far-reaching economic costs of gun violence will help build political will to address the structures underlying the violence in Louisville,” said Monique Williams, faculty member in the UofL SPHIS Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Louisville Metro Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods.

While other studies have been conducted to quantify the cost of gun violence to taxpayers and governments, Whitney/Strong’s study aims to provide a more in-depth view of the economic impacts of specific incidents of gun violence, the resulting impact on youth, and how investment in gun violence prevention can increase tax revenue and family wealth in high-violence areas, while also increasing protective factors for healthy youth development. Whitney/Strong hopes to share the completed results of the study by the end of 2022.��

“Gun violence does more than harm individuals and families; each and every act of gun violence has an effect on entire communities in ways we’re only now beginning to understand. Our hope is to better recognize those effects and help spur action that, ultimately, can save lives,” said Whitney Austin, .��“With record gun violence in Louisville, year after year, we need to have a better understanding of just what our city is giving up by not tackling this issue. I’m eager to get this study underway so we can better see that preventing gun violence is not a problem for one neighborhood or just an issue for our city government. Gun violence is devastating to every facet of our community’s health – physical, mental and economic – and understanding the extent of that harm will bring us one step closer to preventing more suffering.”

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