Children affected by gun violence find comfort in programs like 'Louisville's Future Healers'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In a troubling crime trend, young children continue to lose their lives to gun violence on the streets of Louisville and around the country.

That's why Christopher 2X created the Future Healers program, which helps victims find a path to recover from the trauma inflicted by gun violence. Sharing their stories helps the children heal -- and hopefully opens the eyes of the community to the violent trend that must stop.

Malakai Roberts is still dealing with the traumatic shooting that left him blind.

In December 2020, Malakai who was five years old, was watching a movie with his mother and brother inside his Lexington home when he was shot in the temple and lost his ability to see. Since recovering from the shooting, Malakai, who is now 8 years old, has been attending school in Lexington and the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville.

"I was able to see, but then I couldn’t see," he said.

Shane Richardson was also 5 years old when bullets came whizzing through his home in the Klondike neighborhood after someone fired shots from an AK-47.

"I hide under my bed so they won’t shoot me," Shane recalled.

He wasn't physically injured, but the traumatic event has left lasting effects.

"That’s scary because you do think that you’re safe in your own home, but that’s not always the case," said Malakai's mom, Cacy Roberts. "Having a program like Future Healers allows you to just be a little more prepared for something. If it could happen, it might happen."

Shane and Malakai are just two of the thousands of children who have been affected by gun violence in Louisville and across the country.

For these two young boys, every day since the shootings has been a day of healing, as they continue to take part in programs like Future Healers.

"It’s helped me be more confident," Malakai said.

Researchers have found that children who survive gun injuries were 68% more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, and 144% more likely to use drugs.

The Louisville program led by community activist Christopher 2X teaches kids how to take care of their bodies, and even help others if they experience a shooting again.

"I learned about cells and good cells or bad cells, and if you get the bad cells it will like mess you, mess your body up, and it will cause you to get cancer or sick or like an infection," Shane said.

The program allows children to work with medical professionals like UofL surgical researcher Dr. Brian Harbrecht.

Arielle Bryant, 13, said the program has helped her put away the past trauma and prepare for the possibility of future trauma.

"It’s helped me cope and stuff, learning about how it will help me if it ever happens again," she said. "Hopefully it won't."

Arielle has had family members directly impacted by shootings. Now she wants to be a NICU nurse. "I really like babies," she said, "and I really like new life coming into the world. That’s really cool to me."

UofL medical students have put together a workbook to allow the kids to learn, even when they're not with the group.

They can do word searches with medical terms or even draw a picture of a human heart or brain. It will soon be translated to Braille so Malakai can have one, too.

Future Healers Journey to Wellness workbook — Pictured: this undated frame grab taken from video shows a workbook put together for children taking part in the Future Healers program, which helps young victims overcome the physical and mental trauma of gun violence. (WDRB image)

Orion Rushin and Manting Xu are the co-directors of education for Future Healers and 4th-year medical students at the UofL School of Medicine who worked together to make the workbook happen.

Rushin said he will always remember the reactions from the kids when they presented the workbook.

"Manting and I both were present, and it was truly an experience that I will never forget, Rushin said. "The kids and families were so excited to have their very own journal! Many of their parents even wanted one of their own to work through with their children. I am glad that something we created for them was received so well and do hope it prompts opportunities of learning, togetherness, and wellness."

Xu said students' eyes lit up when the workbook came out.

"We handed out the Future Healers journal book at our last session of the 2023-24 calendar year, and we were so excited to share it with them," Xu said. "Both the students and parents were ecstatic to receive them, and you could see the excitement in their eyes, that this journal was made for them with topics they already knew about."

And because Malakai now has to learn through the sense of touch, Future Healers has given him the confidence to say nothing is impossible.

"I think because now I learned even though I'm blind I can still be a doctor, and it wouldn’t be that hard," Malakai said. "I think if I wanted to I could be a doctor. It’s not impossible."

And even though Malakai has suffered greatly, he still wants to give comfort to others.

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