BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, February 15, 2021) – Today at 3:30PM, Mayor Brandon M. Scott will swear in the first members appointed to the Trauma-Informed Care Task Force, a group of twenty-nine people charged with developing a citywide strategy for reducing and addressing trauma in Baltimore City. 

The Trauma-Informed Care Task Force was legislated through the Elijah Cummings Healing City Act, sponsored by Councilmember Zeke Cohen, which mandated the training of Baltimore’s agency leadership and employees in trauma-informed practices. The Task Force will create a multi-year strategy to inform city policies and procedures to align with best practices of trauma-informed care. 

“I am honored to swear in the inaugural Trauma-Informed Care Task Force. One of the most untold stories of the ongoing violence epidemic is the trauma our residents, especially our young people, experience and internalize on a daily basis,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “Addressing trauma is critical to prioritizing the lives of Baltimoreans. I look forward to partnering with the Task Force as we center a trauma-informed approach and fundamentally transform how our City agencies engage with residents.”

Following the swearing in of the inaugural task force, the Mayor will invite remarks from Councilmember Zeke Cohen, Director Tisha Edwards of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, William Kellibrew, Director of Youth and Trauma Services for the Baltimore City Health Department, and Young Elder, a Task Force member and Healing Youth Ambassador.

“The Trauma-Informed Care Taskforce is our love letter to Baltimore. It unites physicians, clinicians, beauticians, educators, artists, students, returning citizens and healers from all walks of life. Together we have the capacity to transform our city,” said Councilmember Zeke Cohen, who will serve as a co-chair of the Task Force.

The Elijah Cummings Healing City Act makes Baltimore the first major city in America to comprehensively legislate trauma-informed care. For the last six years, Baltimore has suffered over three hundred homicides. Addressing trauma is a critical component of reducing violence. The law calls for each city agency to become trained in how to effectively respond to and treat trauma. 

“There is a lot of trauma in the city but there is also a lot of love. With the Trauma-Informed Care Taskforce we can conquer the trauma and find the love,” said Young Elder, a member of the Trauma-Informed Care Task Force and one of the community members assisting with the trainings for agency leadership. 

In early January, Mayor Scott committed that all agency leadership and cabinet members would be trained in trauma-informed practices. The Baltimore City Health Department, in partnership with community-based organizations, held multiple trainings over the past month to train City leaders to recognize the impact of trauma and tailor service delivery in a trauma-responsive way.