Next Step

By Jamie Cetrone | Categories: | Comments Off on Next Step

The Next Step program was launched in July 2016 with  the goals of reducing the rate of violent re-injury and re-hospitalization for youth and young adult victims of violent assault injuries, supporting positive development and holistic healing for victims and families affected by violence, and interrupting the cycle of recurrent violence.

The Next Step program is a hospital-based violence intervention program. It is available to individuals ages 12 – 28 who are admitted to HCMC with a violent injury. The program starts as an in-hospital crisis intervention with staff youth workers who are available to provide immediate and ongoing support, advocacy, and connection during the full hospital stay. The youth workers enable and empower participants to envision a different future and to help them create a goal plan towards that new vision. Next Step youth workers continue to provide support after discharge and facilitate connections with other community resources to support participants as they work towards their goals. Funding for the programs comes from the city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety – Office of Justice Programs. The hospital staffs Next Step. There are currently three youth workers who are the heart of the program.

The Next Step program staff have worked collaboratively with other hospital departments to re-view, re-think, and re-write protocols for admitting and transferring victims of violent injuries so that the processes are trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive. The resulting protocols take into account the needs of patients, their families, staff, visitors, providers, and the community. Next Step staff also regularly work with myriad community-based providers to meet the diverse needs of program participants. Additionally, via partnership with the City of Minneapolis Health Department, the program is part of a broader collective impact network of jurisdictional partners and stakeholders focused on preventing youth violence across the city.

During the first year of Next Step 98 individuals participated in the program. On average, 38 participants were actively receiving services at any given time. Only 3 (3%) of the program participants had returned to HCMC with a violent injury. (National average for re-injury after a violent attack is ~40 %.) Nearly 60% of participants developed a goal plan and received support from staff toward at least one goal. (Goals might relate to safety, housing, school, employment, basic needs, positive social activities, etc.) Of those who developed a goal plan, 70% completed at least one goal.