Black-Owned Mental Health Organization Launches Free Trauma Therapy in Response to Surge in Summer Violence
GRO Community mobilizes trauma-informed clinicians to support survivors and witnesses impacted by the River North Mass Shooting
CHICAGO, IL, July 24, 2025 — Amid another violent summer in Chicago—including the recent mass shooting in River North—GRO Community, a Black-owned mental health and social services organization, has launched a targeted trauma response initiative to provide free trauma-informed therapy services to those directly impacted. The emergency initiative will include providing access to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and neurofeedback, two of the most clinically effective treatments for trauma and PTSD—especially when accessed early.
The announcement responds to what public health experts increasingly call a “silent crisis,” the unaddressed trauma in communities of color where access to culturally competent mental health care remains scarce. According to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, shootings surge between June and August, and while the physical toll often dominates headlines, the emotional aftermath—marked by flashbacks, panic attacks, sleep disruption, and emotional numbness—goes largely unseen and untreated.
“Our communities are absorbing trauma faster than they can heal from it,” said Rosalyn Thomas, LCPC, Clinical Training Manager at GRO Community. “People don’t just survive violence—they carry it. This initiative is about intervening early, using real science, and showing up for people who are too often left to suffer in silence.”
Evidence-Based Interventions for Immediate Trauma Recovery
Unlike general talk therapy, brain-based interventions like EMDR and neurofeedback allow trauma to be processed at the neurological level, making them particularly effective for people in crisis.
A 2023 meta-analysis published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback found that neurofeedback significantly reduced PTSD symptoms, with the most notable improvements in individuals experiencing complex trauma. The treatment was shown to reduce anxiety, depression, emotional numbing, intrusive thoughts, and even suicidality—and offers a compelling alternative for individuals who have not responded to traditional therapy.
“Research shows that neurofeedback and EMDR can significantly reduce symptoms like anxiety, panic, and emotional shutdown—especially in the first weeks after trauma,” added Thomas. “We’re using evidence-based approaches that help the brain regulate, recover, and reconnect after complex trauma.”
This initiative will provide in-person sessions to residents impacted by the recent River North mass shooting.
Meeting a Community-Wide Mental Health Need
GRO Community’s decision to deploy these services reflects growing concern among clinicians about the emotional toll of recurring violence, particularly in underserved communities where trauma is compounded by poverty, housing instability, and systemic inequity.
“Too often, care arrives too late—or not at all,” said Aaron Mallory, CEO of GRO Community. “We’re not just offering therapy—we’re closing a gap in the public health response. We are treating trauma like the emergency that it is.”
This initiative builds on GRO’s trauma-informed ecosystem, which integrates:
- Individual and group counseling
- School-based social-emotional learning (SEL)
- Telehealth psychiatric care
- Gun violence prevention
- Transitional housing and workforce development
While this specific trauma therapy initiative is being offered free for victims of the River North mass shooting, GRO also provides mental health services for Black and Brown boys and men ages 5 and up, accepting Medicaid and most major insurance plans.
“We don’t treat trauma as a stand-alone condition,” said Thomas. “We treat the whole person. And we do it in a way that’s grounded in culture, science, and accountability.”
A Call to Community: Healing Starts Here
GRO Community is meeting survivors where they are—offering culturally grounded, brain-based healing and modeling what it looks like when public health, equity, and community care work together in real time.
GRO encourages families and friends, local organizations, educators, clergy, and medical providers to refer individuals who may be suffering silently.
To schedule a free session, individuals impacted by the River North shooting can call (800) 425-0873 or visit www.grocommunity.org/services/trauma-support.
For interviews, referrals, or partnership opportunities, contact JoAnna Fernandez at jfernandez@grocommunity.org or visit www.grocommunity.org.
About GRO Community
God. Restoring. Order. (GRO) Community is a Black-owned mental health and social services organization headquartered in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, with services extending across Illinois and Ohio. GRO was founded to confront the deep and lasting effects of chronic trauma and exposure to violence among Black and Brown boys and men ages 5 and up—particularly those living in under-resourced, high-crime communities.
Believing that mental health is whole health, GRO’s service delivery model is grounded in an understanding of the neurological, biological, and psychological effects of trauma. GRO’s Black and Brown clinicians provide behavior and clinical support by helping clients identify harmful thinking patterns, develop emotional regulation, and build the social-emotional skills needed to navigate life’s setbacks.
Through individual and group counseling, school-based SEL, gun violence prevention, transitional housing, and workforce development, GRO offers an integrated approach to healing. GRO Community is more than mental health – it is a complete ecosystem for healing and empowerment. Together we heal. Together we thrive.
www.grocommunity.org
