They were paralyzed and alone. Here's what's happened since they started a gunshot survivor group.

Across the country, hospitals are embracing intensive intervention programs to help victims of violence — including those who have criminal histories — after they have been brought in for treatment of injuries. Such programs can help prevent retaliation, reduce the chance a patient will be violently injured again, and put people on track for success.

Health providers are well-positioned to identify and help those who have experienced domestic violence. Nepal is one of several countries training medical workers to identify abused patients and refer them to in-hospital crisis support services.

A Colorado bike builder creates adapted cycles for athletes who otherwise rely on wheelchairs for mobility. The cycles allow adventurous people with disabilities to ride trails and access difficult terrain.

Connecting LGTBQ+ teens with peers and adults for support can help reduce depression and the risk of suicide. Organizations like the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center in Durango, Colorado, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at Fort Lewis College provide safe spaces where youth feel welcome and supported by a network of peers and adults. The centers also act as social spaces where youth, parents, and their communities can come together.

Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee created a special show for displaced Syrian children conducted entirely in Arabic. The show teaches children lessons like counting and the alphabet, but it also teaches them emotional coping skills, which is very important for refugee children. The show is accompanied by trained early childhood development facilitators who visit homes and interact with the children playing games or reading books.

Two medical professionals, one in New York and one in the Phillipines, have launched a free online seminar that aims to help Filipino and Filipino American frontline workers who are experiencing mental health concerns due to coronavirus stressors. The program is just one of several that is helping medical professionals reduce the stigma around talking about mental health.

The Violence Against Women Act was billed as a way to make a patriarchal society, and policing profession in particular, take domestic violence more seriously. It encouraged policies making arrest of alleged abusers mandatory, even to the point of punishing victims who refused to cooperate in prosecutions. This has backfired on many victims, especially women of color who distrust police and their punitive approaches to solving family problems. The law also prioritizes punitive approaches in its awarding of federal grants, thus denying victim aid to women who do not wish to cooperate with arrests.

The Wraparound Project at Zuckerman San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center turns gunshot victims' hospital stays into "a teachable moment," by providing them with services aimed at helping them avoid a repeat injury. Getting shot once is a key risk factor for a second injury, particularly for gun violence's most common victims, young Black men. Wraparound is one of the nation's oldest hospital-based violence intervention programs. It has helped about 850 clients, mostly with mental health counseling, housing, and jobs. The program is associated with a decreased reinjury rate in San Francisco.

The Defender Association of Philadelphia practices community-oriented public defense — also known as "holistic defense" — to connect clients with support services and resources that help address the root causes of crimes. The association works with social workers, investigators, and paralegals to get clients access to housing, food, jobs, and healthcare, as well as mental health and substance use treatment, with more than 150 people referred to treatment providers between September 2016 and January 2017.

The Cowichan Wellness and Recovery Centre works to combat the ongoing overdose crisis. The Centre offers services like mental health support and a community hub where people can access, test and use drugs safely, as well as connect with healthcare, detox, and treatment services. Not only have these services benefited people, and connected them with others in the community, but they’ve also led to decreased criminal activity like theft.