On this edition of Your Call, we’ll speak with everyday citizens forming groups to protect their communities and provide a range of basic services.
The Bear Clan Patrol walk the streets of Winnipeg and hand out food and care packages to people in need. They also help families search for missing loved ones. United Playaz in San Francisco and Youth Alive in Oakland are on call at all hours to defuse violence. They also mentor at-risk youth. How are people organizing to keep their communities safe and cared for?
Guests:
James Favel, executive director of Bear Clan Patrol Inc., a volunteer neighborhood group that was revived in 2014 after the murder of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year-old indigenous girl in Manitoba
Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, intervention manager at Youth Alive!, a nonprofit in Oakland, California that works to prevent violence and create young leaders
Web Resources:
Vice: How an Indigenous Neighbourhood Patrol Is Fighting Overdoses in Winnipeg
SF Chronicle: Program seeks to help gun victims break cycle of violence
NBC Bay Area: PTSD in Oakland: Gun Violence Victims, Families Suffer Continuous Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder