Dr. John Rich Works to Get Young Men Out of Wrong Place

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men
February 18, 2010

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men.

Do Not Miss Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men by Dr. John Rich, professor and department chair at the Drexel University School of Public Health. This is Rich's account of his personal search to find sense in the juxtaposition of his life and the disturbing fact that young black men are daily shot, stabbed, and beaten. It looks beyond the gunplay, offering a window on urban violence by putting faces with the statistics and presenting stories in the victims' own words. " Young black men in cities are overwhelmingly the victims - and perpetrators - of violent crime in the United States. Having worked as a primary care physician at Boston City Hospital, Dr. Rich reached out to many of these young crime victims to learn why they lived in a seemingly endless cycle of violence and how it affected them. The stories they told him are unsettling - and revealing about the reality of life in American cities."

About John A. Rich, MD, MPH

Before joining the Drexel School of Public Health, Dr. Rich was Medical Director for the Boston Public Health Commission, the health department for the City of Boston. In that capacity, he oversaw the clinical functions of the Commission and developed initiatives to address emerging health problems. Dr. Rich was also an Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Boston University, and served as an attending physician at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Rich is an expert in inner-city health problems, particularly urban violence, men’s health and racial disparities. He is the Founder and Director of the Young Men’s Health Clinic at Boston Medical Center, a primary care clinic designed to meet the health needs of young men in the inner-city. He serves as Principal Investigator on a number of CDC-funded grants including REACH Elders and Steps to a Healthy Boston. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College, his medical degree from Duke University Medical School and completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Rich also holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Rich also helped establish the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at the Drexel University School of Public Health. Supported by more than $1 million in grants, the Center will focus on urban trauma as a public health issue and provide a program of healing for victims of violence.

On September 19, 2006, Dr. Rich was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur grant for his work in addressing the primary health care needs of young men in the inner city by designing clinical services and training programs.

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