Survivors of Violence in Ohio left to mourn and grieve long after the attention dies down

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Attention is paid to victims of crime when something bad happens to them. But what about those left behind to deal with the long-term pain and trauma? To address that issue the Survivors of Violence 4 Conference and Concert is coming to Cleveland on Saturday, May 11.

One of the co-producers, Dennis Cash, talked about how survivors are often forgotten when the cameras, radio microphones and newspaper reporters go away.

He said the healing is a slow and the pain long-lasting for those who survive the trauma of violence. He concurred with the observation that the effects are like tossing a pebble in a pond, with the waves of pain washing over a survivor.

He said, depending on the particular details of the incident, almost anything can trigger a memory that impacts the survivor.

Cash said one of the reasons why he and co-producer DJ Randy V have created the Survivors of Violence 4 Conference and Concert is to give those family members and the communities in which the crime happens a way to express themselves.

“When it first happens you have someone who shoots someone who may go to jail, and someone dies from it. Two people. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s a continuous effect from grandma down to babies where that violence affects people. Our whole mission is, as it says, survivors," said Cash.

You can watch this entire CW 43 Focus show with host Harry Boomer and his guests on demand on our Roku and Amazon Fire TV apps, online at Cleveland19.com and every Sunday morning at 6:30 on CW 43.

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