Astor Services for Children & Families celebrated the opening of its new Trauma Recovery Center at 750 Tilden St. in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 4.
All too often, victims of violent crimes don’t come forward and therefore don’t receive the help they need to deal with and heal from the trauma they experienced, which can lead to isolation, depression or suicide.
The new center, one of three in New York City and only one of its kind in the Bronx, will provide much-needed therapeutic and support services to trauma victims, including crisis intervention, case management, therapy and legal assistance, all free of charge. It will also serve as a community hub for victims of violent crime, working directly with local hospitals, legal defense services, law enforcement and other support providers.
To qualify, participants must be a Bronx resident, be 5 years or older, been a victim of a violent crime in the past three years or lost someone through homicide in their lifetime. Participants can meet with clinicians in person, virtually or in their homes.
Jaida Richardson, program director of the Trauma Recovery Center, emphasized that Astor Services was a truly community based organization.
“We go out into the communities to connect with clients and if that means you’re isolated or you’re feeling depressed and you’re at home, we’ll meet you at home,” Richardson said. “If that means that you need something and you need us to meet you in the community, we meet you in the community.”
Astor Services CEO Yvette Bairan pointed out that while their facility wasn’t in a fancy office building, it was truly community based.
“The most important thing is to make sure that we have good people doing the great work so that individuals come out of here having hope,” Bairan said.
Bairan told the Bronx Times that the trauma therapy program consisted of three experienced social workers and two care managers in addition to the program director.
“The difference between doing trauma work and regular therapy is the level of intensity in which it happens because it takes a different type of intensity and also type of therapy to really support these individuals,” Bairan explained. “The individuals that are working in the Trauma Recovery Center have expertise in trauma work already. These are seasoned individuals because of the work that we’re doing. It really takes someone to make sure that they can support the work.”
Amber Rodriguez, 23, said she was sexually abused as a teenager and the therapy at the Trauma Recovery Center had the most impact on her “exponential growth” in her 11 years of therapy.
“The biggest reward in any healing journey is finally being able to come home to yourself,” Rodriguez said, explaining that one had to peel back the layers of trauma “like an onion until the true culprit was revealed.”
“And in that revelation, you can now begin to understand and you can now begin to heal,” Rodriguez said. “To understand and truly comprehend that it’s not your burden to carry but it is your decision to release and there is a power in releasing what no longer serves you and what’s hurt you.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson applauded the efforts of Astor Services to create a trauma center. The beep told Bronx Times that it was critical to recognize that trauma is “real.”
“[Trauma] affects people, family members and loved ones and it comes in multiple forms. And sometimes you don’t know what someone is experiencing when it comes to trauma because a lot of it’s very internal,” Gibson said. “For me, as borough president, it’s important to recognize these programs because they’re so valuable when it comes to healing, when it comes to recovery.”
Gibson pointed out that trauma patients weren’t always dealt with in a sensitive and diverse way.
“When it comes to race or ethnicity. Or whether you identify as LGBTQIA plus, you identify as trans, it’s important to make sure that programs like this meet clients where they are, with no judgment with compassion, with services, whether it’s outpatient treatment, whether it’s counseling, whether it’s group therapy,” Gibson said.
To learn more about Astor’s programs and services, visit astorservices.org.
