INDIANAPOLIS — A crisis in our community is being met by a new team of advocates with IMPD.
Family members who have experienced gun violence themselves are part of an effort to support other survivors. The team is being led by a mom whose son was critically injured and paralyzed by a shooting eight years ago.
DeAndra Dycus has made it her mission since her son's shooting to help connect survivors. Now, she'll work to help those survivors navigate life after trauma, through IMPD.
Monday was "day four" on the job for Dycus. The news of our especially violent weekend in Indianapolis was especially heartbreaking for her.
"Honestly, I was like, 'Here we go again' and then the next thing was 'those families' lives are changed forever,'" Dycus said. "Every time you hear it, it pierces your heart yet again."
She also knew she'd have a lot of work to do.
In her new role with IMPD, Dycus is leading a three-person team, supporting non-fatal shooting victims and their families, connecting them with resources for help.
A three-year grant through the American Rescue Plan is paying for the program.
As part of that grant, IUPUI is also tracking data on non-fatal shootings and the team's work. The City-County Council will decide after three years whether they'll extend the program.
Dycus said it's a mission that will provide direct support to survivors whose lives changed in an instant.
"Just being a resource hub, just being someone that someone can talk to because first and foremost, we're here to listen," Dycus said. "We can connect to therapeutic support, trauma-informed care, a lot of the survivors - one lady said, 'I need it all! Like, I just need to know how to cope.'"
And that need is growing.
On average, there are three non-fatal shootings in Indianapolis every day. Early Sunday morning, at the former Ovations building near Lafayette Square Mall, the numbers jumped even more.
A 24-year-old man was killed and five people were shot and injured after a fight at a birthday party. Those survivors will need the team's help.
It's the kind of help Dycus herself wished she'd had years ago.
"You know, you hear about someone losing their life and then you hear about multiple that were injured, and I instantly think of the journey I've been on for eight years," Dycus said.
DeAndra's son, Dre, was shot by a stray bullet at a birthday party when he was 13 years old. So when she tells families, "I know what you're going through," she truly does.
It's why IMPD picked her for the job.
"Dre was a quadriplegic when he came home. I wasn't prepared for anything like that. So, what does it look like to have wheelchair service pick me up at my house? How do I arrange that? How do I set that up? We will help with that," she said.
Her team will connect survivors not only to therapy and doctors, but also to the detectives working their case.
The overall goal is to help people heal and hopefully reduce the cycle of violence.
"I think it'll actually be a game-changer for those who actually survive a gunshot wound," Dycus said.