How can you STOP gun and gang violence in Worcester Massachusetts?  Children and teens in the U.S.A. are experiencing staggeringly high gun deaths and injuries. They are also harmed when a friend or family member is killed with a gun when someone witnesses and hears gunshots. Gun homicides, non-fatal shootings, and exposure to gun violence stunt lives and, because of their disproportionate impact, reflect and intensify this country’s long-standing racial inequities. Kids that are involved in gang violence can have an effect on the health and welfare of the individual, as well as that of his or her family, peers, and community. Kids are exposed to guns and gangs at a young age. It’s from families like brothers and cousins, and or the friends, they have hung out or around at a young age. 

The Impact of Gun Violence on Black and Latinx Children and Teens,

     The impact among children and teens is not equally shared across the populations. Black children and teens in America are 14 times more likely than their white counterparts to die by gun homicide. Black children and teens are 13 times more likely to be hospitalized for a firearm assault than white children. Latinx children and teens are three times more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white peers. (https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-and-teens/)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    White and Black children may live in the same city yet experience it differently.  Because of the policy decisions that enforce racial segregation and disinvestment in specific communities, gun violence is concentrated in Black neighborhoods within cities, many of which are marked by high levels of poverty and joblessness and low levels of investment in education. Younger kids exposed to this in their neighborhoods who experience concentrated disadvantage can be isolated from institutions such as schools and jobs, increasing the risk that they will engage in crime and violence, thus feeding into this vicious cycle of violence.

 Major risk factors associated with youth gang involvement

School

• Poor school performance
• Low educational aspirations, especially among young females
• Negative labeling by teachers
• High levels of antisocial behavior
• Few teacher role models
• Educational frustration
• Low attachment to school
• Learning difficulties

Family

• Family disorganization, including broken homes and parental drug and/or alcohol abuse
• Family violence, neglect, and drug addiction
• Family members in a gang
• Lack of adult and parental role models, parental criminality, parents with violent attitudes, siblings with antisocial behaviors
• Extreme economic deprivation

Community

• Social disorganization, including high poverty and residential mobility
• High crime neighborhood; neighborhood youth in trouble
• Presence of gangs in the neighborhood
• Availability or perceived access to drugs in the neighborhood
• Availability of firearms
• Cultural norms supporting gang behavior
• Feeling unsafe in the neighborhood

The high rate of  Black and Latinx young youth who have been exposed. 

  Black and Latinx children in cities are exposed to violence at a higher rate than white children. Exposure includes witnessing violence, hearing gunshots, and knowing individuals who have been shot. Black children in Columbus, OH, were exposed to 66 percent more violence, on average, than white children. In Chicago, Latinx children had 74 percent greater odds of exposure to violence, and Black children had 112 percent greater odds than white children. When children in these cities are exposed to gun violence, their communities and schools often lack the resources to help them heal.

The disproportionate impact of gun violence on Black and Latinx children and teens extends to schools. Among the 335 incidents of gunfire at K-12 schools between 2013 and 2019, where the racial demographic information of the student body was known, 64 percent occurred in majority-minority schools  Although Black students represent approximately 15 percent of the total K-12 school population in America, they constitute 25 percent of the K-12 student victims of gunfire who were killed or shot and wounded on school grounds.

While the above discussion shows the disparate experiences of gun violence by race and ethnicity, the data further shows that gun violence is concentrated in specific neighborhoods in cities, with some schools and certain communities experiencing gun violence with an alarming frequency.

Annually, more than 3,500 children and teens (ages 0 to 19) are shot and killed, and 15,000 are shot and wounded—an average of 52 American children and teens every day.2 And the effects of gun violence extend far beyond those struck by a bullet: An estimated three million children witness a shooting each year.3 Gun violence shapes the lives of the children who see it, know someone who was shot, or live in fear of the next shooting. (https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-and-teens/)

I am trying to make people aware of these kinds of situations and how kids from ages 5 to 19  can get into guns and gangs. With a low income of money and the influence of families or friends,  it can cause them to get involved in guns and gangs because they need a way to get easy money, and they see their friends and or family members so they think it is okay. By this being brought into schools it would cause big problems. We need to know how to deal with things like this, we need to make a plan for the schools on how to help kids get out of this situation and how to know how to deal with the inside.

Thoughts from people at NHS and Outsiders about how they think gang and gun violence affect kids at a young age.

How would you stop gun and gang violence in Worcester Massachusetts?

NHS STAFF 1:I would have meetings and public speaking and ppl to see the outcome of it

Outsider 1:gun violence is inevitable,

Wherever there are guns with no reform people will commit crimes.

Gang violence could be lowered if we had more influencers from gang culture to admit that gangs in Worcester are pointless.

NHS 2:Have more youth programs and different outlines to keep some type of activity out long to offer teens more things to do.

NHS STAFF 3: If we can get the older generation to talk to the younger generation. It might not stop it, but it could slow it down

Why do you think kids tend to bring that kind of violence into schools?

NHS STAFF 1:I don’t think kids want to bring violence inside of school, it happens outside of school so it brought into schools whatever does not get resolved outside of school gets brought into school

Outsider 1: kids bring violence to schools aware that it’s a cluster of different cultures and likings making easy targets to pick on or start trouble with.

NHS STAFF 2: Schools are the only time there are going to see kids of their other, opponents and they are influenced by other classmates

NHS STAFF 3: There needs to be more education on it.

How would you prevent gun and gang violence at NHS?

NHS STAFF 1: Talking to the kids gives them the pros and cons of gang violence. Having outside resources to have them see what it’s like to actually be in a gang. So that’s some of the stuff that they are saying, it would have some of them change their minds

Outsider 1: As a former North High graduate, I prevent gun and gang violence at that school by providing the students with influencers from their culture to guide their knowledge to a safer place of prevention and education.

NHS STAFF 2: metal detectors and random weeps

NHS STAFF 3: metal detectors

What are some factors that are leading to increased violence in central mass?

NHS STAFF 1:Gang violence, selling drugs, illegal activities

Outsider 1: when you mix a city with different cultures, and different beliefs

The pot tends to stir itself.

A simple play of disrespect can lead to gun violence. Most people don’t think before acting sadly.

NHS 2: influence from brother and family members and many offers for the youth

NHS 3:Social media

How would you help kids get out of situations like this?

NHS STAFF 1: Getting them a positive mindset and getting them involved in positive things, so that they don’t get involved in it things like this. 

Outsider 1: a brutally honest way that I would help kids escape a bad path is by acknowledging their situation and letting them know that there will never be any progress or good outcome from getting involved in the wrong crowd, I would take them around the city, show them former gang members in their 30s 40s show them what they’re up to now the good and the bad let them study those people or surround them with the right people.

NHS STAFF 2:Trying to get them active and get them into programs to better their life

NHS STAFF 3:Talk to them trying to relate to them

The City of Worcester WPD is under investigation, For their racial slurs and not treating people of color the same as others 

Worcester is trying to get citizens to speak up and say more about the Police Department. The Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts are on a civil investigation for Worcester WPD because they have been seen as being racist or even not treating other citizens equally to others. Especially communities of color, the gay and lesbian community, and the poor community.

These communities don’t see the WPD as trustworthy people to get involved with them. Member and ex-members of the Worcester council would like these communities to trust one another so the whole Worcester community will not fail.“The City of Worcester is working in full cooperation with the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on the civil investigation announced this afternoon.”

 The Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts decided to investigate WPD Because of a body footage camera where a pastor ask a police officer why are they taking an 11-year-old kid from a fellow church member. They didn’t like that question, so they ended up chasing him and another male inside the church. Where they aggressively penned forced him down and tased him. The other male got punched in his face and forced to get on the ground. There was a pregnant woman involved. They aggressively penned her down to the floor. The police officers were not telling any of them why they were getting arrested, but eventually, all charges against them were dropped.

The Department of Justice announced on Nov, 15 Tuesday, 2022 the opening of an investigation into the Worcester Police Department to determine whether the department should engage in a pattern of excessive force or discriminatory policing. Sargent, Petty, and Batista wrote in a joint statement.”The investigation is being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law.

“The Worcester Police Department will continue to work with the state and federal partners on public safety initiatives to protect and serve our citizens Department of Justice, ”The Justice Department will be assessing law enforcement practices under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, as well as under the Safe Streets Act of 1968 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” The Justice Department is sharing information about this because they know and want to show us that we as citizens of the  United States and under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments we shouldn’t have to be treated this way.  So they are asking the people of Worcester to come forward and speak out about the WPD and the things that they are wrongly doing. 

The purpose of this civil investigation is to determine – through objective and thorough examination – whether or not there is an overall pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law. People of Worcester have seen what the WPD says or is doing as homophobic, treated people as poor because they are not as rich as others, and are racist. Communities in  Worcester are afraid to speak out about this situation because they witness what the WPD are like and they are not trustworthy. So why would they trust The Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts? “Institutional racism is real,” said Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King.” We want to improve our community. We’ll have to do it with all hands on deck and I look forward to and welcome this sort of probe. Especially communities of color, the gay and lesbian community, the poor community — right now — don’t feel safe and don’t trust the WPD”.

They feel there is no trust in our community and want to get everyone into that mindset where we can all trust everyone. This is why people of color need to be protected and not treated like they are nothing so that they don’t get involved in guns and gangs and so it doesn’t get brought into schools. We are on big family in the Worcester community so we should all come together and protect each other from violence like this.