This is another installment in AL.com’s series “Beyond the Violence,” which explores solutions that could make Birmingham safer, healthier and happier. Sign up for the newsletter here.

In response to Birmingham’s record number of homicides last year, local gun violence survivors and national public safety advocates are launching Alabama’s first chapter of the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice network to raise awareness about victim compensation resources.

On Friday, March 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1200 Tuscaloosa Ave. in Birmingham, advocates will be hosting an event where survivors of violence will be taught how to apply to the state’s victim compensation program, share their experiences accessing victim compensation and advocate for improvements that will make it easier to access resources.

“A lot of people don’t even know that the service is there for them. We want to be able to educate them, show them the process of how to apply for the application, fill it out step by step, hand in hand, and just give them some tools and tips on how to fill it out,” Sheree Kennon, founder of What About Us, a Birmingham grief support group, told AL.com.

Kennon will be leading the event alongside other advocates on Friday.

Kennon founded What About Us to help other mothers after her son De’Traio Whorton, 27, was shot and killed in 2021.

The support group is only the beginning of the work Kennon is doing to help families heal as her advocacy has extended into a project that helped 122 families fill out victim’s compensation applications last year. That process that can be overwhelming, slow and disheartening, especially for those who are injured or grieving.

“I was able to sit down with these families one by one, but their mind space was totally like, ‘I can’t do this right now.’ Just the anger, just not being able to concentrate to really read the application and put the correct information…then, it’s not just filling out the application, you have to submit the paperwork, your credentials, the victim’s credentials, receipts…Calling and checking up on the application,“ Kennon said. ”t’s a lot and people just don’t know.“

Aswad Thomas, a survivor of gun violence and the national director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, an Alliance for Safety and Justice project, is hosting the awareness event alongside Kennon. He is also doing a national tour to educate other survivors and advocate for policy changes.

Thomas started advocating for other survivors after he was shot in the back twice and released from the hospital with no resources to recover emotionally and no knowledge of the victim’s compensation program.

“I was released from the hospital back into the same neighborhood where I was shot. My doctors and nurses told me about the physical challenges that I would have, but they never mentioned the psychological effects of being a victim, surviving a shooting and having to recover in the same neighborhood where I was shot,” Thomas said.

“I was dealing with the flashbacks, the nightmares, the PTSD, the deep stages of depression, the anger with no help.”

Only 4% of violent crime survivors knew about victim compensation – meaning that 96% of victims of violent crime did not receive victim compensation to help in their recovery, according to a 2022 Alliance for Safety and Justice report.

There are also multiple barriers that prevent victims from accessing the compensation program, including quick deadlines, confusing rhetoric and strict standards for who can apply.

Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice is a national network of more than 200,000 crime victims advocating for policies and resources that prioritize healing, prevention and recovery.

“We’ve all had plenty of interactions with the justice system, but none that ever led to any help,” Thomas said.

Advocates say victim compensation programs can play a critical role in survivor healing, by covering urgent costs like counseling, funeral expenses and lost wages.

“The reason God spared my life that night was to be doing this work and connecting with other survivors across the country and sharing our stories of healing together. But also to train them to be organizers, train them to be advocates, and train them to change policies and laws that could bring more resources to their communities,” Thomas said.

“I’m excited to be here in Alabama, to be working with some amazing survivors, amazing organizations, so that we can bring some more healing and safety to this community.”