LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Leaders of Louisville's Future Healers program flew to Washington, D.C. Monday, one day before they were scheduled to participate in an FBI training session.
Future Healers is a Louisville non-profit that aims to help kids ages 4 through 13 affected by gun violence.
"We have something that's special, and our first allegiance to what we're doing in Louisville proper," Christopher 2x, executive director of Christopher 2x Game Changers said. "We want to show strong evidence coming out of what we're doing. That it works. If we get other ears around the nation who want to ask us about what we're doing, we're happy to engage other people about what we're trying to do."
Future Healers started in July 2021 and now has more than 100 participants.
"We think what we have in Louisville is a recipe that other cities and states can use," UofL Health transplant surgeon Dr. Christopher Jones said. "As we see all throughout the country with gun violence going crazy, this is something that we could potentially have other people use in order to help with the youth in their cities and states."
Christopher 2X Game Changers, UofL Health surgeons, UofL med students and members of the Louisville Zoo provide mentorship and develop Future Healers programming.
"We really wanted to identify ways that we could help these kids connect to nature, help them connect to the Zoo and help them feel a place of belonging when they're with us," Kim Allgeier, curator of conservation education at the Zoo, said.
The panel discussion, which takes place Tuesday at the J. Edgar Hoover Building for FBI leadership as part of the agency's training program, will be recorded and available to FBI offices throughout the country.
"Who cares who came up with this or where it comes from," UofL Health trauma surgeon Dr. Keith Miller said. "If it can impact lives in a positive way, then we're ecstatic about that. I know that many cities in our country are experiencing similar issues with violence that we're seeing in Louisville."
Even though Future Healers has only been around for a year, this isn't the first time they shared its mission in Washington. They first presented to Congressional delegates in the nation's capital last September.
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