Chicago citizens are facing a 35 year homicide and gun violence epidemic.
Yet…
Chicagoans remain a relatively isolated community.
Project Introduction
Problem
Chicago is a world recognized metropolis, yet its citizens navigate the city's gun violence as a relatively isolated community. Stories of trauma remain insular to outside influence and awareness. It faces a 35 year epidemic of homicide and gun violence and needs cross-sectional interventions from diverse stakeholders to change this narrative. Like cities across the United States who navigate segregation and resource disparities, the way we contextualize Chicago in terms of race, community safety, and gun violence underscores themes that produce trauma center deserts nationwide.
Research
During an artist Technology Residency with Pioneer Works in 2019, and since, creative technologist Jordan Harper White cultivated a collaboration with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago to design a human centered approach to participatory time base media that doubles as a social justice tool for safe neighborhoods. Jordan learned that the project will be most useful by sharing stories that bring empathy to victims of senseless violence and institutional neglect, and by providing a resource for individuals faced with the burden of recovery.
Further, personal experience revealed a demand for an emergency response application that alerts first responders of a persons location and alerts family of their whereabouts. Additionally, community organized design workshops demonstrated a call for civic technology to be a resource in the education of everyday civilians to learn how to cauterize bullet wounds. The breadth of research is uncovering how to provide resources that re-instill agency for people in desperately isolating predicaments.
Project Goals
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Develop a mobile application experience called, “Invisible Trauma” that motivates the general public to move through the City of Chicago safely while gaining insight as to how gun violence contextualizes community health.
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Create an experience where global citizens can learn about impacts of gun violence in Chicago, especially relating to the families affected by a lack of access to trauma centers. Intern, facilitating cross-cultural dialogue in communities throughout Chicago and abroad who also experience trauma center deserts.
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Illustrate — to the general public as well as stakeholders facing traumatic experiences each day — the multitude of factors correlating with gun-violence, especially as it affects people who live in trauma center deserts: 1. How geography influences which people are victims of gun violence and homicide, 2. Who they are, and 3. Which interventions are available to save lives. We also hope to illustrate the necessity of investing in preventative interventions, namely smart city emergency protocol integration, community investment and recovery infrastructure.
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Demonstrate the necessity to invest in the integration of homicide prevention interventions; namely smart city emergency response protocols, community cohesion, and recovery infrastructure.
Project Overview
“A social justice artistic endeavor that shifted into a community safety civic technology application.”
Traction
Advancing work started in an artist tech residency at Pioneer Works
Member in forthcoming NEW INC Cohort 11
Roadmap
Develop prototype UX wireframe logic with SVA Rising Senior Design Interns
Workshop with Chicago residents
Apply for SSRC Just Tech fellowship
Features
Integration with mobile Emergency API
Voice Activated AI Messaging
Geo-location Mapping
Dynamic Data Visualization
Augmented Reality Totems honoring people’s stories
Emergency
Care Training
Equip citizens with essential skills and stay prepared for gunshot incidents through regular training and quizzes.
Community Support Resource Directory
Provides access to essential services for those unaware of available options or unable to seek help outside their home due to trauma.
Home Page
Gun Violence Data Map
Visualize and explore detailed data and personal stories behind gun violence incidents in Chicago
Upload Personal
Audio Story
Share and preserve personal narratives of victims and survivors by uploading audio stories, photos, and other information
Persona
Gun Violence Data Visualizer
“I downloaded the app to avoid dangerous areas in Chicago, but the personal stories of each victim deeply moved me and changed my perspective on gun violence.”
Vance Becker (35)
“I'm passionate about uncovering and understanding the personal stories behind each gun violence incident in Chicago.”
Emma Gracia (32)
Gun Violence Data Visualizer
Zoom Out
Zoom In
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Oral and written stories bridge a path to community reconciliation and healing
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Beyond data, people's lives are honored as totems representative of the healing journey from trauma to recovery
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Filters Contextualize Layers of Data
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Themes Correlated with Gun Violence Emerge
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Family members of homicide victims and survivors of gun violence share first hand accounts of their personal journey
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Data data Map demonstrates instances of gun violence and their relationship to Trauma 1 Centers
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Navigate the Gun Violence Data Visualization Map based on areas of interest
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Gain in-depth insights into each neighborhood in Chicago
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Clusters of data about gun violence are actually individual cases of trauma
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Learn the nuances of individual stories to gain perspective on the holistic picture
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Persona
Audio Story
“As a survivor of senseless violence and a former gang member who endured bullet wounds, I want to share my story as a cautionary tale to help others and advocate for community improvement through my real-life experiences.”
Mike East (36)
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Research shows sharing one's story is a step towards healing.
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Each person's story initiates a call to action for our global community to learn, together, empathetically.
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People can make a profile to share their personal experience of surviving gun violence and to also demonstrate what it means to honor a loved one who died.
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Each instance of gun violence is not "just another statistic." Sharing our experiences provides the world with meaningful stories to connect with.
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Trauma Care
Children in the City of Chicago are taught how to cauterize a bullet wound in school. We are self-aware that preparing for traumatic events requires a realistic assessment from vigilant citizens.
The "Healing Section" initial profile set up, gives people the option to cater the recovery toolset to interventions which most align with their trauma recovery journey.
If people find themselves mourning loved ones, witnessing tragedy, or surviving horrific events of gun violence; a journey of recovery can lead to healing. This section provides a directory of resources in the holistic healing ecosystem.
Persona
Trauma Care Education
“I live in a Chicago neighborhood with frequent gun violence, so I constantly need to memorize safety measures to minimize the consequences if I or those around me ever encounter a shooting.”
Marcus Green (17)
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All citizens of Chicago need to be prepared for the reality we all face. Gun violence is everywhere, and it affects us all.
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Workshops in 2018 + 2019 revealed first responder interventions are more often than not, a responsibility of everyday citizens waiting for 911 emergency help to arrive. Every second counts.
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Tutorials instill an extensive knowledge set to know what to do before 911 emergency care arrives.
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People can test their knowledge with topical quizzes that reflect their learning.
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Through written instruction, video, and audio guidance, people learn how to best prepare for instances of gun violence they may encounter in a lifetime.
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Persona
Trauma Care Recovery
“I've experienced a shooting and developed severe PTSD. With no family nearby for support and unable to leave my home due to psychological and physical difficulties, I need this app to help me find resources and assistance to recover from my trauma.”
Jasmine Kim (29)
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People can change their preferences at any time to see the most important resource for their needs.
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Everyone's healing journey is unique to their individual process. We incorporate a shared language around possible ways people heal to make sense of what healing might look like for the individual.
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To ensure interventions match individual needs, the directory of healing care services is responsive to each person's preferences.
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Healing care teams include victims as well as their support group.
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Community Care
Upon opening the "Recovery" page people will receive a tailored experience matching their preferences for need and urgency.
For a city to heal, each individual must heal, within a community of healers.
Trauma is one of the most isolating events in a person's life. Opportunities to find people going through similar healing journeys helps foster community cohesion.
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We are currently organizing with four Chicago organizations whose work is offering a helping hand to those struggling with issues spurred by gun violence.
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The directory aims to be a conduit for community building across the broader city so that Chicago can heal together.
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A growing directory of resources is provided through a series of partnerships with community organizations.
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Survivors and community groups can connect with one another.
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Potential Design Features
Real-time Emergency Support
Persona
Emergency Care
“I witnessed a shooting in an area without cell service and urgently needed to use the app's emergency feature to seek immediate assistance during the crisis.”
Alex Brown (25)
Many people's first hand experience with 911 dispatch provides empirical evidence that the 911 call might not be life saving.
Further workshops will reveal how an "emergency call" function would best be implemented into existing application architecture or a completely separate app.
People find themselves afraid to call 911, untrustworthy of EMS response times, and/or in a position to respond to their own or another person's immediate emergency.
One of the most important factors for receiving is providing care an accurate description of the problem area.
Transparency is a critical feature in building trust where it has been lost over decades of infrastructural and departmental failures. The application records its screen, turns on the mobile camera, and records audio of emergency situations.
Emergency contacts are messaged to initiate a community response.
Close friends, emergency contacts, neighbors who have bluetooth activated and also those using the Citizen app are made aware of the situation.
During application set up each person's preferences are saved and implemented whenever the help call is made.
Contacts added to a profile are sent notifications upon set-up to know what to expect during an emergency call.
Emergency call information is shared with preferences automatically after 30 second buffer.
Contact Invisible Trauma
Jordan Harper White support@invisibletrauma.org
Founder, Creative Technologist