Mercy Health hosts training session for City of Toledo Interrupters

As the City of Toledo continues to build momentum in its Save our Community program, members of the Violence Interrupter program are on site this week at Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center for training with health care professionals who medically and mentally treat victims of trauma. Members of the Mercy Health – Toledo Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) and the Forensic Nursing program will meet with the team to share insights on their work and to offer guidance on how to apply strategies while in the community.

The training furthers the partnership between Mercy Health and the City of Toledo, who are working together to bring good help to those in need within distressed areas of the city.

“Mercy Health continues to be a valued partner in our multi-faceted approach to reducing gun violence,” said Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. “The training our front-line workers will receive from the experts at Mercy Health this week is further example of the impact a collaborative relationship can have on our residents."

The City of Toledo initiated its Save our Community program in 2021 to tackle gun violence in specific neighborhoods. The teams work with high-risk individuals and build connections to community resources.

One such resource is the TRC, an outpatient program that provides services to victims of crime. The only Trauma Recovery Center of its kind in northwest Ohio, the Mercy Health – Toledo TRC opened in in 2019 and has worked with more than 1,500 clients, most of whom were referred through Lucas County courts and local emergency rooms.

Those receiving help are victims of crime and their family members, including those who survived abuse, assault, domestic violence, stalking and/or human trafficking. Domestic violence, assault and homicide are the top three crimes of which survivors and family members have been receiving help through the TRC.

One of the main goals of the program is to help stop the cycle of violence by addressing the needs of victims when they need help the most.

“Mercy Health will continue to partner with the City of Toledo in innovative ways to help curb the violence that is plaguing our community,” said Bob Baxter, president, Mercy Health - Toledo. “The latest example of this is to provide support and training for those members of the Save Our Community task force. These members must be given every tool available in order to be successful and Mercy Health is proud to be a part of the process.”