1 Trauma and Violent Offending: Understanding gang violence through the lens of an ex-gang memberAdam Ellis, MA, PhD (Student) Dr. Julian Gojer MBBS FRCPC JD The Manasa Clinic

2 A woman abused by her husband for many yearsHusband threatens her As he walks away she shoots him in the back of the head

3 A shooting in a Mall Two dead men Boy shot in the head others wounded Guilty of First Degree murder Two consecutive life sentences

4 If it was a woman who was gang raped, carried a gun for protection and committed the same offense….Do we see it differently? If it were two males on the street in an alley way in some other part of town would our perceptions be different? If the victim shot two of the perpetrators in regent park would we see the situation as street warfare or a reaction to trauma?

5 The Many Faces of TraumaSingle episode-extra ordinary event Single episode-ordinary event Multiple episodes-extra ordinary events Multiple episodes- ordinary events Developmental stressful events Abuse Neglect Refugees fleeing

6 Using one word “Trauma” to capture a variety of human events does not do justice to the individual’s experience. How is it possible to compare a motor cycle accident to a rape or a torture experience to the loss of a child.

7 Nature of the response Depression Anxiety Sleep disordersHypervigilance Dissociative symptoms Somatic symptoms Behavioral problems Aggression

8 Trauma exposure The DSM-5 articulates a traumatic event as “an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others” (DSM-V). The exposure must result from one or more of the following situations where the individual: -directly experiences the traumatic event; -witnesses the traumatic event in person; -learns that the traumatic event occurred to a close family member or close friend (with the actual or threatened death being either violent or accidental); or -experiences first-hand repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event (not through media, pictures, television or movies unless work-related

9 The Evolution of the ConceptRailway spine, Soldier’s Heart, Battle Fatigue PTSD-III to DSM 5 Subthreshold PTSD ICD 11-more restrictive criteria (Maercker 2013) Complex PTSD –disturbances in: Affect Self Interpersonal relationships DESNOS-Herman Dissociative Identity disorder Borderline personality disorder Somatization disorder Developmental Trauma Disorder-Van der Kolk

10 Common thread-Trauma exposureThe bridge between Lavallee who shot her husband in the back of the head as he walked away from her and Mr. Husbands who shot 2 men dead and wounded several people is a hard one to navigate. Who can be better to talk about trauma and violence than Adam Ellis who has lived the experience and walked that bridge!

11 “Gang members choose to join gangs”.

13 Society’s reaction to trauma -- Soldiers as heroesSoldiers are Heroes Street Soldiers Receive help to cope with the environment of war Post-war RR in exotic regions (receive access to mental health counseling etc…) Receive decompression services including family and social reintegration Do not have to return immediately to war environment Receive no community help/marginalized Most programs are superficial and only deal with structural issues (e.g. economics) Gang members lose comrades they have to deal with it on their own RR for gang members is often prison No access to decompression services Often are moved away from family and barred from reuniting with friends (bail conditions etc..)

14 How do we Humanize the gang phenomenonHow do we Humanize the gang phenomenon? Life-Course Trajectory of Trauma

15 My story: from gangs to organized crime

16 Today: revitalization

17 Not just one ‘hood’ -- Gang tentacles

19 My Experience: 1. childhood Trauma Exposure to Gang Culture

20 Liminal space -the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed forms of conduct, dress, etc. -a threshold -to exist between two spaces

22 Emerging Turfs

23 Adolescent trauma-High School Years Robbery

24 High School Violence –socialization and desensitization – collectively Over 700-1000 fights per year

25 Regent Park-The crack game

27 Swansea mews

28 Fighting the trauma: music as an intervention and a curse

30 Trauma in young adulthood-The UN of Gangs: Organized crime years

31 What Saved Me?

32 “Some men are feared on the block but that is only momentary“Some men are feared on the block but that is only momentary. the streets love you and you are revered…..men will kill and die for you”. AKA Droopey

33 Thank you! Contact: