Our commitment to healing and hope
At the Darrell Lee Jenkins Jr. Resource Center, we're dedicated to providing comprehensive support to those impacted by gun violence in Springfield, MA. Discover how our services empower individuals and build a stronger, healthier community. We are committed to quality support and advocacy.
Trauma-informed support and empowerment
We offer several services for those impacted by gun violence, including Trauma-Informed Support Groups (like M.O.R.E.), Youth Empowerment Programs (MORE4YOUTH & MORETEENS), Wraparound Services for Families, Community Healing Events, and Digital Advocacy via M.O.R.E. Facebook Page. These services help with emotional healing, prevention & empowerment, system navigation, community resilience and faith integration. Survivors often face PTSD, grief, and isolation. Our programs offer connection, validation, and tools for recovery. By reaching youth early, we help them build purpose and avoid high-risk environments. Many families don’t know where to turn after a shooting. We guide them through the chaos with compassion and clarity. Our events and outreach foster collective healing, reduce stigma, and inspire action. For many, spiritual grounding is essential, we offer that in a way that’s authentic and transformative.
Collaborating for a healthier Springfield
We actively collaborate with other local organizations to build healthier communities through coalition building with local health and advocacy groups, joint programming and resource sharing, faith-based and grassroots partnerships, policy and systems advocacy, and youth-focused collaborations. We partner with organizations like Live Well Springfield and the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts to address housing, food access, and mental health, participate in community health needs assessments to identify gaps and co-design solutions, co-host events such as healing circles, youth summits, and resource fairs, share facilitators, venues, and outreach channels to maximize reach and reduce duplication. The impact of these collaborations results in holistic support where families receive wraparound care that addresses emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, community ownership where residents feel empowered to shape the programs that serve them, sustainable change where shared resources and aligned goals lead to long-term improvements in health and safety and amplified advocacy where a united front strengthens our voice in policy and funding conversations.
Empowering lives, creating change
Through our resource center, we hope to see emotional and spiritual healing, where survivors and grieving families begin to process trauma in safe, faith-anchored spaces and participants develop coping strategies and rediscover hope through support groups like M.O.R.E.. We hope to see empowered youth with purpose, where children and teens in MORE4YOUTH and MORETEENS gain leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and a sense of belonging and youth are equipped to resist cycles of violence and become change agents in their communities. We hope to see stabilized families where families impacted by gun violence access wraparound services that reduce stress and promote stability and parents and caregivers feel supported in navigating legal, financial, and educational systems. We hope to see increased community engagement, where residents participate in healing events, advocacy efforts, and storytelling initiatives that foster unity and community members feel seen, heard, and empowered to shape local solutions. Lastly, we hope to see systemic awareness and advocacy, where survivors become advocates, raising awareness about victim compensation, trauma recovery, and prevention and local systems begin to respond more compassionately and effectively to community needs.