A New Chapter: Compassion with Accountability.
Those who have known Life After Hate since 2011 may have noticed, over the last two years, that we have evolved tremendously as an organization. Today, our work is built on priorities like professionalism, ethical standards, data-driven practice, outcomes, and transparency. We have evolved from being the first organization in the United States in this space to now being the national leader in tertiary intervention for violent extremism. Our clients are now our top priority. The tertiary care that Life After Hate is pioneering is only one way that our community can prevent future acts of violent extremism, but it is an essential part of a comprehensive approach to preventing and countering violent extremism.
Why Life After Hate Declines Requests to Speak with our Clients
Our goals for every Exiting Individual client are a) disengagement from violent far right extremist (VFRE) online and offline behaviors and social networks, b) change in their violent far right beliefs and identities, and c) reintegration into society in prosocial roles and nonviolent social networks. Life After Hate is clear that our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our clients and society at large.
The Mental Health Realities of Exiting Violent Far-Right Extremism
According to a Washington Post analysis of data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, domestic terrorism incidents have soared to new highs in the United States, driven chiefly by white-supremacist, anti-Muslim, and anti-government extremists on the far right.
Life After Hate has released a white paper revealing the mental health realities of exiting violent far-right extremism. Key finds in the paper include:
- 88% of Exiting Individuals endorsed experiencing at least one mental health symptom (e.g., suicidal ideation, violence ideation, depressed mood, anxiety)
- Nearly 50% of Exiting Individuals reported some form of risk at intake, with 42% reporting suicidal ideation
- 42% of Exiting Individuals reported feeling alone
Introducing The Daily Former
If you haven’t listed to it already, we are excited to introduce you to The Daily Former, a new podcast and community, launched by Life After Hate. This podcast is focused on providing hope and support to individuals who are seeking to leave violent far-right extremist (VFRE) groups and online hate spaces for good.
Listeners will hear directly from former VFRE members, family members of former extremists, and experts in VFRE. The combination of lived experience and commitment to helping others makes this podcast unique and compelling.
Holocaust Remembrance
Last month Temple Shalom hosted a Central Florida Holocaust Remembrance event where CEO Patrick Riccards was featured as a guest speaker to represent Life After Hate.
“Hate is the most powerful emotion that we face,” he said in his speech in central Florida, “and hate driven by fear doubly so. Those who allow their hate to manifest itself into acts of violent extremism know all too well of hate’s power.”
Social Work Case Management at Life After Hate
What is social work case management? Life After Hate provides social work case management, a formal process of coordinating care across multiple services, by masters-level social workers. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), social work case management is “a process to plan, seek, advocate for, and monitor services from different social services or health care organizations and staff on behalf of a client.” It is a person-centered approach to assessing needs, collaboratively developing and implementing an individualized service plan that will address those needs.
