San Francisco violent communities and PTSD

The San Francisco Peninsula

Emile Fort is a known gang leader of San Francisco. In May of 2009, he received a 496 month sentence for participating in numerous gang activities to include racketeering and murder. Although this is sadly typical of convicted gang leaders, Mr. Fort’s attorneys tried to use an interesting defense tactic. They claimed that Emile’s crimes were the results of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Although the defense did not win with this argument, there were certainly questions about how a gang member could suffer from PTSD.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can result from witnessing or being part of a grossly violent event whereas the person has an overwhelming feeling of helplessness or fear. These events can cause a person to engage in self-destructive behavior like substance abuse, become socially withdrawn or suffer from panic attacks. This happens because the person consistently re-experiencing the event or events in their heads as if they were real. They can also avoid certain activities or places that remind them of the event. For example, those who survived the bridge collapses of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake may avoid bridges all together or have panic attacks every time the ground shakes.

These symptoms can normally happen to people for a little while after experiencing a traumatic event. The difference between those feelings and PTSD is that the symptoms seem to never go away. They could not appear for a few weeks or months after the event and then suddenly the person is re-living the trauma. This  can make PTSD sufferers highly reluctant to talk about the trauma since it can feel like the event is actually happening again.

In Fort’s case, the defense was alluding to something that may not have been true about Fort, but there is statistical significance to their claim in terms of living in violent neighborhoods. According to the National Center for PTSD, 75 percent of children living in urban elementary schools reported witnessing acts like homicide, aggravated assault or gang violence. In the low-violence neighborhoods, 9 percent reported witnessing a homicide. In high-violence ones, 32 percent was the number. Witnessing these actions can lead to other symptoms of PTSD such as hopelessness about the future, being easily frightened or even hallucinations. Fort’s territory, Visitacion Valley, was among the most violent of neighborhoods in San Francisco. Recent targeting by police has reduced crimes violent crimes in that area.

If you live in the San Francisco area and feel that a traumatic event may have led to PTSD, this list of therapists may be able to help you deal with the symptoms.

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