CLEVELAND — Their necklaces are an extra push to keep going but their journey to healing is long and it isn’t easy, Alexis Johnson’s trek started back in May.
Jackson’s daughter, 14-year-old Abre’Bre’anna, was lying in bed when someone driving by fired shots into their home, one of those bullets hit her in the head.
“I just kept on trying to see if I could feel her heart and I couldn’t,” said Jackson.
Latonya Williams’ healing journey started a decade ago, her daughter Lataevia was killed by a stray bullet while she was out celebrating her 14th birthday.
“I lost it for a long time, but I still knew that I had other kids that I had to take care of,” said Williams.
Eight years later, another unimaginable loss, Williams’ 19-year-old son Derrick was shot and killed while leaving a funeral.
“I didn’t lose my mind, but I was in a deep depression,” Williams explained. “I haven’t worked since then because of my depression, I couldn’t stop throwing up.”
Depression can be crippling in people who’ve experienced trauma.
“I have flashbacks,” said Jackson. “Whenever they shoot outside my kids run in my room, we still are going through a lot.”
Exposure to trauma like gun violence can increase the risk of depression, anxiety and PTSD. The Kaiser Family Foundation said Black and Hispanic people are more likely to experience them.
In fact, when it comes to mental health only 25 percent of black people get help, compared to 40 percent of white people based on Harvard research data.
Williams and Jackson were able to find help.
“She came and found me, that right there was like a sign,” said Jackson. “She was at my baby’s balloon release.”
Jackson is talking about Brenda Glass, owner of Brenda Glass Trauma and Recovery Center. Additionally, this is the only black-owned trauma center in Ohio according to Glass.
Glass specializes in counseling victims of gun violence, moving them to safe housing, and putting people on a path toward healing, said of the more than 140 clients she has counseled in the past year, all of them were black.
“People that I see that have experienced gun violence are people that would never get help from anyone, they feel like either they will make it on their own or they will be okay,” said Glass.
Glass said a big reason for that some Black people don’t seek out mental health is because they feel like they can't find someone who understands their background or someone they can relate to.
As of 2020 American Psychological Association data showed just 4 percent of our country’s psychologists are black.
“I’ve found it to be a great asset with me being a person of color and having a similar background similar,” said Glass.
“We are from some of the same backgrounds, and if you already know some of the pain that person is going through you can help more,” said Jackson.
“Therapy like hers [Glass], that has walked our walk, it’s the most helpful anyway,” said Williams.
For Jackson and Williams, the walk toward healing carries on, with the support from someone who understands the shoes they walk and with their guardian angels pushing them forward.
“I wouldn't be this far, yes I’m crying a little bit but two months ago I not even talk about it,” said Jackson.
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