The entire budget for violence prevention in Philadelphia thus far is 155.7 million dollars.
For people who have very little money, in some cases, they may think $155.7 million is a lot of money; let’s start there–it is not! Nonetheless, how dare I look a gift horse in the mouth–so to speak–it beats a blank by a long shot.
For as long as I’ve been writing columns for the SCOOP Newspaper, whenever I write about violence in Philadelphia, a key ingredient for what I think it will take to minimize violence down to a tiny dot is–folk working together. By folk, I mean residents, concerned citizens, community and grassroots leaders, church, mosque and synagogue leaders, business and corporate leaders, elected officials for sure, and of course law enforcement. When I include the word residents, as a part of the group of people I think we need to help address violence, I’m directly thinking of grown folk, adults, parents and grandparents, aunties and uncles, and cousins. When you see something wrong and when you know someone has a gun that has no darn business with a firearm, speak up. Parents check your kid’s rooms; they don’t own a darn thing. You have every right to look in their closets and under their mattresses, etc.–every so often, just because.
Look at your young people’s text messages and posts on social media. Stay on top of all of that. That’s what everyday people and citizens can do to help with the violence crisis. See something, darn it, say something. It isn’t about “snitching.” It’s about speaking up and saving lives. That’s a slice of my take on how even everyday people can make a difference in the violence reduction struggle.
The Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention was formed to address Philadelphia’s gun violence by facilitating and coordinating among stakeholders and formulating a comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy. The committee came together this past week to get reports and updates from stakeholders.
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