This Philly therapist is helping Kingsessing heal from a mass shooting
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Therapist and former NFL player Tim Massaquoi. Photo: Courtesy of Tim Massaquoi
In the time it takes to snap a football, former NFL tight end Tim Massaquoi shredded his knee — and his sense of identity.
- "I really had to now figure out ... who Tim Massaquoi is to the world," he tells Axios. "What can I offer? What values can I bring? And that took some time."
Why it matters: Massaquoi is bringing the lessons he learned on his journey of self-rediscovery and healing to Kingsessing, a neighborhood still reeling from a deadly 2023 mass shooting.
The big picture: Massaquoi leads a three-person team at Kingsessing Heals, a wellness center he helped open in the spring with the support of a three-year Department of Justice grant.
- He wants to help restore peace and a sense of connection in the community so people know they don't have to suffer silently.
- The center offers free counseling and trauma-centered programming to Philly residents impacted by the tragedy, and works with the victims' surviving loved ones.
Catch up quick: Many are still looking for accountability after a shooter opened fire on the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood's streets two years ago, killing five people.
- Surviving families have filed multiple lawsuits against a ghost-gun retailer they say sold gun components that suspect Kimbrady Carriker used to carry out the attack.
- Carriker's case is pending in criminal court, and he may put on an insanity defense at trial.
Meanwhile, Kingsessing Heals is building rapport in the neighborhood.
- The group planned to hold a remembrance walk through the streets last year, but Massaquoi called it off, not wanting residents who had just felt safe to return to their front steps to feel triggered.
- "That's trauma, right?" Massaquoi says. "That means there's still work to do."
The latest: Massaquoi is leading a new weekly men's group he calls the "Situation Room," which focuses on building healthy habits.
- The center is ramping up its community outreach in the coming months.
Flashback: Massaquoi knows about trauma.
- A former Michigan standout who overcame injuries in college, he was a seventh-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006. He played in only 11 games before he tore several ligaments in his knee.
- The rehab took two years, spelling the end of his NFL career, and sending Massaquoi into a spiral.
After suffering panic attacks, the Allentown native sought help from a Philly therapist who made him realize his new calling.
- He got a master's in psychology and became a licensed professional counselor, hoping to work with pro football players struggling with performance anxiety and mental health.
- But some rejections led him to a Philadelphia youth shelter, where he spent five years counseling teenagers who had experienced abandonment, gun violence and homelessness.
- Massaquoi has since founded his own practice, Peace in Mind.
The bottom line: At the start of every football season, Massaquoi deals with "what-ifs." But he quickly pivots to the present: What if he wasn't in Philly?
- "There's nowhere else I'm supposed to be," he says.