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In This Issue:
BWH Bulletin's year-end issue is a time to highlight BWHers' proudest moments from the past year. We asked you to share one BWH-related memory from 2014 that was meaningful to you, and you offered touching stories about colleagues, patients, families, events and milestones that inspired you. We hope you enjoy these moments.
Providing Solace, Affirmation to Victims of Violence
We are grateful each and every day to be part of the incredible team of people that make up the Brigham's Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs (VIPP). To do work that combines health care, advocacy and social justice in service of survivors of intentional violence is a gift and a privilege.
Recently, a family's situation embodied our pride in our colleagues perfectly. A young couple came to our programs for help. They were experiencing several layers of trauma and oppression, including community violence, intimate partner abuse, structural and institutional racism, and ultimately, the loss of a pregnancy.
Along with our Social Work and Adolescent Clinic colleagues, our team of advocates and victim recovery specialists worked tirelessly to provide compassionate, authentic and non-judgmental care, striving at every turn to see the humanity in all aspects of life for both this young woman and man. Though the circumstances of the situation were tragically sad, we believe these two people found solace and affirmation in some of their darkest moments, in large part due to the work of our amazing co-workers.
We are honored to work with a wonderful group of colleagues at VIPP, the Center for Community Health and Health Equity and at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Mardi Chadwick, JD, Jackie Savage-Borne, MSW, LICSW, and Idalia Carrasco, LICSW
Management Team, Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs