INDIANAPOLIS — Hope is something many who have gone through a traumatic violent injury may lose during recovery, but one violence prevention program out of Eskenazi Health is looking to change that.
“They’re the type of people that always have your back. They’re always there,” Isley Carter said. She has been in the program for several months.
“First shot that rang off, I was standing in front of my window and I got hit,” Carter said. In November of 2021, the 28-year-old and her dog were shot after an argument over a parking spot in the City of Indianapolis.
She was rushed to Eskenazi for treatment.
“[I] had to have a lot of surgeries in order for me to get back to where I needed to be. It’s been a long road since I’ve been upstairs for sure,” Carter said.
“Prescription for Hope,” a violence reduction program offered through Eskenazi, played a pivotal role in Carter’s road to recovery.
“They’ve been by my side from the very beginning and when I got out, they never left,” Carter said.
The idea of the program is to connect patients who suffered a violent injury — shooting, stabbing or assault — with tools for a successful recovery.
“We approach them to see if they’re ready to change whatever in their life that may have gone wrong that got them put in that situation in the first place,” Eskenazi’s Injury Prevention Coordinator, Blakney Brooks, said.
From the start of 2022 through August, Prescription for Hope has helped around 90 people. By year’s end, Brooks said she hopes to help 150 people. Since starting in 2009, the program has helped more than 1,000 people.
“Sometimes they’re perpetrators, sometimes they’re victims, we don’t judge. We’re there to help and give them that guidance,” Brooks said.
Curtis Gray is on the Prescription for Hope team as a victim’s advocate. He is there to mentor those including Carter.
“It gives you hope and that’s what we try to pass onto them. That if you just make the right decisions, we’re here with the resources, but the decision is on you,” Carter said.
The job for Gray is personal. Nearly 10 years ago, he was shot during a carjacking.
“It’s a constant in my mind that what we do is important because of what I went through,” Gray said.
Theprogram has several goals including:
- "Reduce recidivism of violence-related injury and readmission"
- "Reduce repeated criminal activity and arrest"
- "Develop effective life skills for responsible citizenship behavior"
- "Provide community education and information on violence and crime prevention to create safer homes and neighborhoods"
- "Create a network of community agencies and programs to serve as partners to provide accessible services for assistance and personal development"
“It doesn’t matter where you were shot or stabbed, it doesn’t even matter what hospital you went to. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was, it could’ve been three years ago. We’re here and we’re ready to help with whatever it is that you need help with,” Brooks said.
As for Carter, she is thriving in her recovery, and she credits that to Prescription for Hope.
“I love them. They’re awesome,” Carter said with a smile.
For those looking to learn more about this program or enrolling, you can call 317-880-5045.
-
Food cart vs. food truck: Indy hot dog vendor may have to upgrade his grill
Abacuc Garcia has served his namesake hot dogs from a food cart at 16th and Emerson for 14 years. He's now rushing to buy a food truck because his menu may be too big for his cart.IMPD voices concerns after 3 children shot in Indianapolis Sunday
Indianapolis gun safety advocates are asking all gun owners to revisit how they store their weapons after IMPD responded to three separate incidents where a child was shot in one day.IMPD looking for suspect after woman killed in hit-and-run crash
IMPD says so far this year there are 20 pedestrian fatalities already surpassing the 16 who died in 2023.Truck driver was over allotted hours during that killed 9-year-old, report shows
The truck driver in a crash that left a 9-year-old boy dead should not have been driving at the time, according to a vehicle inspection report obtained by WRTV Investigates.