Support Darnell's Trauma Healing Curriculum

Darnell Lane is a 50-year-young writer, youth mentor and community social justice advocate. A Chicago native, Darnell has three adult sons and two young grandchildren, ages 8 and 7. This past fall, Darnell earned his bachelor’s degree from Northeastern Illinois University’s University Without Walls program, hosted at Stateville Correctional Center outside of Chicago. Despite the daily challenges of being a student in a carceral context, he graduated from the program in just over two years.

In one of the final classes of his degree, Darnell researched and wrote about the effects of gun violence and trauma on public health. Growing up in the city, he noted how many lives have been forever changed, not just by the physical damage of bullets, but also by their psychological impact. After wounds have healed, who would step in to help people heal those that can’t be seen?

Upon completing his degree, Darnell decided that he wanted to be part of that healing. Just a month after graduation, Darnell began working with a violence prevention group at the University of Chicago to design a new kind of program. Designed to prevent future violence by healing current trauma, this program would be offered to people currently experiencing incarceration, who have much higher rates of untreated anxiety, depression and PTSD than the general population. In the last few months, Darnell has begun studying the literature on trauma and approaches to trauma-healing in preparation for this coming summer, when he will co-teach his Violence Prevention & Trauma Healing course to 15 of his peers at Stateville Correctional Center.

As Darnell’s collaborators in this work, we’re hoping to raise about $6,000 to support his efforts. Donations will go towards books (which he reads a lot of) and the cost of communicating between the inside and outside, as well as Darnell’s teaching stipend. Thank you for your generosity!