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Helping communities heal after crisis

A group sits closely in a supportive circle on chairs, focusing on someone speaking.

On a Wednesday morning in August 2025, members of Hennepin County's Community Response Team were preparing to give a routine presentation to a community partner. Word of a school shooting in South Minneapolis changed those plans in an instant.

Without hesitation, the team of social workers shifted to assembling on scene at Annunciation Catholic School.

"People were in shock," said Kaleb Mua, a senior social worker on the Community Response Team. "We began providing psychological first aid almost immediately and have continued to show up in whatever ways the community has needed ever since."

People often need help to begin to heal in the aftermath of a tragedy. One immediate response, psychological first aid, is a trauma-informed way of helping people regain a sense of safety and calm. The goal is to help reduce the intensity of a person’s emotional response following a traumatic event.

For many, the first step is simply having someone come in and say, "You’re not alone." This is the work the Community Response Team does every day – often behind the scenes, but always essential.

A growing service within Cope

The Community Response Team, launched in 2024, is one of the newest components of Cope’s mobile crisis response. Within the larger Cope structure, the Community Response Team works after crises to respond to the emotional and psychological needs of communities, families and individuals.

"Our mission is to help minimize psychological and physiological trauma," said Social Work Unit Supervisor Tamara Martin.

"When people don’t get the support they need after a crisis, they can remain stuck in the trauma response and begin to experience mental health symptoms that may also impact their physical health,” she said. “Part of our work is making sure communities have tools and connection early, so the long-term impacts of traumatic experiences are reduced."

That mindset also guided work to support families affected by immigration enforcement activity. A school in Minneapolis invited the team to participate in virtual meetings with parents, students and staff.

"These sessions provided the community with the space to ask questions, learn coping strategies and discuss ways to support the kids," said Martin. "Students also had the opportunity to share their feelings if they wanted to, and that our team is here in the future when they’re ready to talk."

Crisis response isn’t only for headline-making incidents. While the team often responds to major crises, they also show up for situations that don’t make the news – a family that lost a child, or residents displaced by an apartment fire.

"We let the community define the crises," said Program Manager Tammy Doll. "If a group of people feels impacted and needs support, we’re there to help. There’s no threshold; we respond to both large and small crises."

Adapting to what the moment requires

The Community Response Team’s services are intentionally flexible.

"We tailor our response based on what each community needs," said Martin. "We adjust to support people in the way that’s most helpful."

Depending on what a community needs, the team may:

  • Provide psychological first aid
  • Lead critical incident debriefings and healing circles
  • Make connections to resources and referrals
  • Offer mental health workshops and de-escalation training

Sometimes, though, what people need most is simply someone to be present and willing to listen.

Senior Social Worker Sunny Comstock shared a recent example when the team received a request from the Red Cross to respond to a fire.

"We were ready to arrive on site and provide psychological first aid, but instead, we ended up doing town halls over three separate visits, because that’s what residents needed to feel safe," she said. "We follow their lead."

This approach mirrors the team’s broader philosophy: "We don’t come in with solutions," said Comstock. "We come in and listen to the impact of their experience and provide support intended to empower and give hope."

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