Trauma

Tracy Matheson's organization Project Beloved is funding makeovers of rooms that police use to interview sexual assault victims — including in Kansas City, Missouri. The project was born after the violent death of Matheson's daughter.

Consuming news and information about traumatic events such as war and natural disasters can expose people to secondary trauma — even if they're not directly involved in what's happening.

Communities can experience collective trauma from natural disasters, violence or systemic oppression, affecting not just mental health but also generational health and wealth. Kansas City is hosting its fall mental health symposium on community trauma featuring experts and leaders from around the metro.

Homicides could set a record again this year as non-fatal shootings are down from last year, likely because of deadlier guns on Kansas City's streets. But overall, since 2015, shootings that leave a survivor are rising slightly — meaning more families are struggling with the physical and mental wounds they cause.

Two schools in the Hickman Mills district, Smith Hale Middle School and Ruskin High School, are participating in a national program that provides counseling and clinical mentoring to girls who have experienced traumatic stress.

Godfrey Riddle, a Kansas City social entrepreneur and founder of Civic Saint, will appear on an episode of the new Peacock show. Executive produced by Amy Poehler, the series features individuals recovering from trauma and helps them clean out the possessions of departed loved ones.

The EF5 tornado in May 2011 destroyed a third of Joplin, a city of 50,000, killing 161 people and causing $3 billion in property damage. “You never get over it, it just gets less raw,” one resident said after similar storms in Kentucky last month.

Kansas City's largest railroad company wants to merge with a larger Canadian company, a move that insiders predict may help reshape the transportation industry. Plus, a local organization is helping veterans trying to heal from "moral injury" by writing and sharing poems and stories about their experiences.

President Joe Biden was in Kansas City on Wednesday to promote the $1 trillion infrastructure plan that he signed last month. Plus, Kansas City Public Schools is rethinking its approach to addressing students coping with trauma and violence.

Kansas City, Missouri, saw a record 180 homicides in 2020, and 2021 is on track for another deadly year. Inevitably, the trauma from this gun violence makes its way to students, forcing Kansas City Public Schools to rethink its approach to education and discipline.

Up to 40% of domestic violence victims are unwilling to go to a shelter because they’re concerned with what will happen to pets left behind with their abuser.

Black Kansas Citians say therapy feels safer when their counselor is Black. But there’s a lack of Black therapists in the area and across the country.