On this edition of Your Call, we're speaking with violence interrupters in Oakland and Philadelphia in the aftermath of last week's school shootings.
In Philadelphia last Tuesday, four people were injured and a 14-year old was killed last week at Roxborough High School after five shooters ambushed a group of students leaving a football scrimmage. On Wednesday afternoon in Oakland, at least two gunmen injured six people after firing 30 shots on the King Estates campus, which houses four different schools. Two victims are in critical condition. The shooters in both incidents are at large.
How are young people living in communities with gun violence dealing with their trauma? What outlets do they have? The Oakland based organization Youth Alive! says society needs to listen to young people and demand more services from the government like counseling, after school programs, and job opportunities. They say healed people heal people.
Guests:
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, founder and national executive director of Mothers in Charge
Jaymes Fitzpatrick, violence prevention educator with Teens on Target at Youth Alive!
Janiesha Grisham, violence prevention educator with Teens on Target at Youth Alive!
Web Resources:
San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Almost like a mafia-style hit’: Oakland school shooting reflects alarming trend of unfettered violence
The New York Times: 6 Injured in Oakland School Shooting, Police Say
CBS: Roxborough community remembers teen killed in ambush outside high school
The Marshall Project: My Son Khaaliq Was Killed Over a Parking Space. Now I Help Other Mothers Grieve.
The New York Times: ‘Everybody Is Armed’: As Shootings Soar, Philadelphia Is Awash in Guns
