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Gun Violence Takes Toll On The Mental Health Of Young People

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
WLRN
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

When children and teenagers survive gun violence it can have an impact on their mental health.

In a series that started this week, Health News Florida partner station WLRN is exploring what the trauma of shootings can do to the mental health of children and families.

Over the past decade, more than 850 kids and teens who were shot came through the Ryder trauma center. The vast majority--close to 90 percent--survive.

Dr. Joan Muir, a clinical psychologist at the University of Miami who develops counseling and treatment for families of troubled youth works beside the trauma center.

Clients of her program are frequently young survivors of gun violence.

Health News Florida’s Sammy Mack sat down with Muir to talk about the mental health burdens these young survivors carry with them.

Click here to view WLRN's entire series Young Survivors: The Unspoken Trauma of Gun Violence.