Anthropology society hopes to help curb violence in Pittsburgh

Changing the direction of gunshot victims is one way to reduce violence in Pittsburgh, two experts say.

“We look at this as a teachable moment for the gunshot wound victim as well as us,” said Richard Garland, a former gang member and visiting instructor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Garland and Dr. Steven Albert, Pitt's chairman of behavioral and community health sciences, are part of a team working with trauma teams to reach victims. They're scheduled to discuss the Gunshot Reoccurring Injury Prevention Services program Tuesday during the 75th annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology.

Applied anthropology deals with analyzing and solving societal problems.

So far, 36 victims have enrolled with the program, which tracks them for six months while helping them find services to change their lives, Albert said. The program has helped another 15 victims not interested in providing data, he said.

The program works with trauma teams at UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Mercy and Allegheny General Hospital. Participation is voluntary, and most victims either refuse or are ineligible because they're under 18, he said.

Some of the eligible victims refuse to talk with the intervention specialists, others disappear and, of course, some die, he said.

“We've only gotten about a quarter of the people we want to get,” he said. “We hope to get that up to 50 percent.”

The program is aimed at reducing the statistics that show about 5 percent of gunshot victims will be back in the hospital within a year with a new gunshot wound while 13 to 14 percent will be charged with violent crimes, he said.

Since the program is only eight months old, it's too early to say how well it's working, but it's had some successes, Garland said.

“We had one guy, he needed a pair of glasses,” he said.

Through a nonprofit, LensCrafters provided him with a pair. While his case is more complex than that, the glasses have helped him find work, and he's doing well, Garland said.

“He needed a way to get out of the lifestyle, and one of the things was that he had a bad eye. He couldn't take care of it,” he said.

Others start off receptive to the program's message but, as they recover, they lose interest, he said.

“We're having issues with trying to keep guys engaged,” Garland said. “If we let up, they get relaxed and go back to some of the things that got them shot in the first place. It's real labor intensive.”

On average, each victim needs about 10 different services, Albert said. The mix varies from victim to victim and includes everything from eyeglasses to drug treatment and job training.

The program benefits trauma teams because Garland gives them a weekly update on what's going on in the neighborhoods and whether they're likely to see a spike in crime-related emergency room visits.

They also warn trauma teams about conflicts between victims, which helps them keep warring parties on different floors of the hospitals, he said.

Brian Bowling is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.