Georgia's P.o.r.c.h. Initiates the Public Conversations Project

Georgia’s P.o.r.c.h. (Professional outreach and resource center for healing), a fourteen year recipient of VOCA funds, is a statewide project that serves as a refuge for citizens experiencing loss due to homicide and suicide, as well as the trauma of potential death and critical incidents. The P.o.r.c.h. provides overnight lodging for co-victims (survivors), as well as for emergency services personnel involved in critical incidents. A cadre of licensed therapists provides crisis intervention, short-term and long-term counseling, as well as justice support to co-victims and emergency services personnel. As a statewide project, the P.o.r.c.h. works with other victim assistance agencies and social services programs to ensure continuity of care to Georgia’s citizenry.

During the past year, staff was exposed to a specific type of dialogue, Public Conversations Project (PCP), which was rooted in family therapy. Although, group treatment in the form of Critical Incident Stress Management debriefings for emergency personnel has been utilized since the program’s inception, formal group interventions with co-victims (survivors) of homicide or suicide had not been conducted. In consult with Dr. Carol Rossiter from the Valdosta State University School of Social Work, Georgia’s P.o.r.c.h decided that PCP was a viable option because of its potential for vetting divisive issues among groups with shared identities. Certainly, co-victims in homicide cases have shared identities and common goals regarding desired justice; however, they also can be divisive in their specific ideas regarding justice outcomes.

P.o.r.c.h. staff envisioned the inclusion of PCP as a group intervention to prepare families for the court process and as a means to solidify the support needed from one another during the tragic aftermath of the violence. A family unit of twelve agreed to participate in a PCP intervention after being informed of its purpose. Although the judicial process for this family is incomplete, the results of the intervention have been promising.

To learn more about this therapeutic intervention, contact:

Cindy Doss
Project Director
[email protected]
Phone: 478-445-1783