LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Future Healers Program was created to help the youth throughout Louisville affected by violence in their neighborhoods navigate the trauma of violence and to hopefully inspire them to build a better future for themselves and their community.

According to a weekly homicide report, there have been a total of 108 homicides and 66 suicides in Louisville in 2021 as of July 18.

“Our hope is to give that beacon of hope through undeserved kids being a part of a collaboration again with the medical community and our organization to say, 'Guess what, we have humanitarians.' We just have to spark something in them for it to ignite inside to say I want to be apart of that,” said community activist Christopher 2X.

On July 24, the Future Healers pilot program kicked off at the UofL Hospital Trauma Institute. More than two dozen ambassadors ages 4 to 13 are taking part in the program, which focuses on healing youths affected by violence by exposing them to health care settings and teaching them the importance of health and the human body.

The program was created through a partnership with the UofL Hospital Trauma Institute, the University of Louisville School of Medicine and Christopher 2X Game Changers.

“Individuals have been directly impacted by what's going on in our community and moving backwards into the community. So it's a little bit different of an approach that I think it's not the approach, it's one of many pieces that are important to our communities response to this issue,” said Keith Miller, trauma surgeon at UofL Health.

Future Healer ambassadors were able to participate in different activities and tour an outpatient operating room to learn more about the medical field.

For Alkeshia Boone, a parent of a future ambassador, she hopes the program will encourage her son to follow in the footsteps of those teaching the lessons.

“This is important because he can learn to see individuals who look like him on the other side as far as being productive, learning and educational,” Boone said.

That impact is why transplant surgeon Dr. Christopher Jones wanted to be involved.

“I realize that pain, I've experienced it first hand myself and I know what they're going through. And if there's any little thing I can do to give back to just lessen the pain that they are going through, then thats what I'm here for all day long,” Jones said.

The Future Healers Program is still in the pilot stages but hope through different sessions like today’s they can expand the program to more people in the community.