Tennessee Homicide Survivorship Study

Building cross-sector solutions for survivor healing and stronger systems of care across Tennessee.

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About the study

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The Tennessee Homicide Survivorship Study (THSS) is the flagship research initiative of the Traumatic Stress and Violence Lab. THSS investigates how adolescents, families, and communities experience and navigate life after homicide loss across Tennessee.

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Through a series of mixed-methods studies, THSS examines biopsychosocial-spiritual well-being, service access and utilization, and systems of care from the perspectives of youth homicide survivors, caregivers, and the professionals who support them.

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By integrating these perspectives, THSS generates actionable evidence to inform cross-sector collaboration, strengthen healing-centered services, guide responsive interventions, and advance policy. Its goal is to improve outcomes for homicide survivors and support stronger, more coordinated systems of care across Tennessee.

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Why this work matters

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Homicide loss is not a single event. It is followed by police contact, media attention, court proceedings, financial disruption, school and work interruption, and a grief that many communities have little language for. Support exists in Tennessee, but it is spread across victim services, behavioral health, health care, schools, faith communities, and the justice system...and families are often left to find it alone.

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THSS begins from a straightforward premise: we cannot strengthen the response to homicide loss without first understanding what survivors actually encounter.