by Annette Pinder 

National experts in public health, medicine, violence prevention, trauma recovery, education, social work, and community advocacy will gather for the conference Rise, Respond and Rebuild. Hosted by the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, the conference will explore evidence-based strategies to prevent gun violence, support survivors, and strengthen community resilience. It will also offer an opportunity to hear from and share experiences with national and local experts and researchers. It will be of interest to clinicians, social workers, researchers, students, advocates, educators, community leaders, trainees, and others concerned about gun violence.

“This year, we have developed Rise, Respond and Rebuild to bring together perspectives across disciplines to understand how gun violence impacts our communities and how to prevent it,” says Allison Brashear, MD, vice president for health sciences at UB and dean of the Jacobs School. “Whether you are working in a related field or are a community member interested in solutions, we want you to come and learn with us to find ways to heal our communities and make them safer and healthier for all of us.”

Organizers explain that the conference has a threefold emphasis: the resilience of individuals, families, and communities affected by gun violence; evidence-based interventions across health care, social work, education, community organizations, law enforcement, and public policy; and long-term recovery, community healing, and the creation of safer, healthier neighborhoods.
 

Featured keynote speakers include Brian Wade, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, SUNY, and Joseph Richardson Jr., PhD, the MPower Professor of African American Studies, Medical Anthropology, and Epidemiology at the University of Maryland. Wade will discuss how nonfatal firearm injuries can increase the risk of future fatal violence and explore opportunities for prevention, intervention, and public health policy. Richardson will discuss the use of AI and Digital Storytelling in gun violence research. Additionally, Emmy Award-winning poet Jillian Hanesworth will present a performance focused on grief, healing, and community resilience. Additional sessions include: 

  • Community Resiliency After Gun Violence 
  • Are Mass Shooters a Social Kind? 
  • Stop the Bleed: Survivability, Engagement and Magical Thinking 
  • Law Enforcement and Community Relations 
  • Femicide as a Gun Violence and Public Health Crisis 
  • Street Engagement Team: Violence Interruption in Buffalo 
  • Teaching Medical Students How to Support Trauma Patients 
  • Compassion Fatigue: Identifying Risk and Promoting Resilience in Health Care Workers 
  • Means Reduction Through Erie County Suicide Prevention Coalition Initiatives 
  • Showcasing the Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Pilot Program 
  • Imagining a Childhood Without Firearm Violence 
  • From Trauma to Healing: Survivor-Led Solutions for Safer Communities  

Conference registration is $50, with a $25 rate for students. For additional details, visit https://medicine.buffalo.edu/news_and_events/rise-respond-rebuild.html. The Community Health Equity Research Institute is sponsoring community registrants, and the first 20 

20 community members to register using the code R3COMMUNITY will receive free admission.