LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Partners of Louisville's Future Healers and Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies groups will travel to Washington next month for an FBI training session.

The session will show how the programs are helping kids impacted by gun violence and be a model for the rest of the country.

One member impacted is Deedra Latham, for whom everything changed in July 2021. 

"My children and I, we lost one of the greatest foundational people in our lives," Latham said. "Their father, my fiancé, was taken to us due to gun violence."

Her fiancé was one of the 188 people in 2021 who lost their lives due to gun violence in Louisville.

Latham found an outlet — journaling — and turned that into a book of poems. She had to figure out a way for her children to find a coping mechanism, too.

"They are so funny, and I think, for them, the whole comedy piece is a form of release — like joking, creating laughter, making other people laugh," she said." It's beautiful. ... And then, luckily, we've also been introduced a great program that has also helped them."

That program is Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies.

More than 110 kids impacted by gun violence ages 4 to 13 experience fun, educational activities like feeding the seals and sea lions at the Louisville Zoo.

"I just can't highlight the sense of empowerment enough," Latham said. "Like, the kids come in ready, willing, engaged, prepared to learn."

The founder of the program, Christopher 2X, is traveling to Washington next month. He, along with the zoo's Education Curator Kim Allgeier and UofL Health surgeons Dr. Chris Jones and Dr. Keith Miller, will participate in a panel discussion at the J. Edgar Hoover Building as part of the FBI training program. Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of FBI Louisville, will also participate.

"We don't necessarily have all the plans to stop people who want to shoot in a reckless way but we do have the power to let kids know they don't have to follow that pathway," 2X said.

“We are honored to be a part of the panel to discuss this unique, landmark and impressive program,” Louisville Zoo Director Dan Maloney said. “Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies program has connected kids with animals and nature to emphasize their therapeutic power. It’s been a privilege to watch the kids engage during the first few months of the program. We hope this new approach will have positive healing ripple effects as these young people become lovers of wildlife and nature, grow to feel included and comfortable in wild places, and ultimately become conservation heroes.”

“As surgeons we see the effects of gun violence first-hand every day and we see families on their worst days,” Jones said. “Future Healers opens a unique door to engage in compassionate and proactive ways. We look forward to sharing lessons learned and hope that it can aide other communities in finding unique ways to address an issue that affects us all.”

“We believe this is a novel approach to what is a crisis in our country, and we’re excited to share that together in Washington, D.C.,” Miller said. “A paradigm shift is required in how our institutions serve our community and the youth directly impacted by gun violence. We cannot continue the ‘come to us and we’ll help’ model and instead need to proactively implement an engaging and inclusive ‘we’ll come to you’ model. That’s what this public health crisis calls for, and we share a commitment to these kids and their families to come together to do better.”

"The program is accessible," Latham said. "It's here. They can go. They can see this man who's had this experience. They can be around other children who have shared experiences or who have lost someone or who are also grieving and have a different sense of compassion for them because of that experience, so I'm really thankful for the program."

The panel discussion will be held June 21. 

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