Participants from Neighbors in Action’s Save our Streets (S.O.S) program
Healing From Violence: A Look Back from 2019
In the wake of recent horrific acts of gun violence in our city and across the nation, our communities are reeling. In times of crisis we find strength in our neighbors—in local violence interrupters—who are leading the movement to grow public safety and communal healing.
Today we're taking a look back on a feature from our 2019 Impact Report which spotlights this work by some of our partners:
Spotlight on Violence & Healing
Insights to Impact Report 2019 (July 2019)
The youth-led movement to end gun violence took the national spotlight in early 2018, following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. For young people here in Brooklyn for whom the threat of gun violence is a daily reality, the movement has long been underway.
The Crown Heights–based Neighbors in Action’s Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets (YO S.O.S.) after-school program—supported with a $30,000 grant through our Invest Youth initiative—has focused on positive peer relationships, political education, and creating youth-led community anti-violence campaigns since 2011. It also organizes direct responses to moments of violence and focuses on rewriting negative narratives so that young people are able to envision a different future for their communities.
After Parkland, YO S.O.S. participants saw an opportunity to elevate the work they do to national stage. “We wanted our young people to go to D.C. and it was really hard to fundraise for the bus,” said Executive Director Amy Ellenbogen. “Other schools and groups may not have had direct experience with gun violence but were able to go much more easily to D.C.” With the support of Brooklyn Community Foundation, YO S.O.S. youth attended the March for Our Lives in March 2018. “Ultimately the experience was transformative for our young people. We put materials together for other organizations trying to incorporate perspectives by people of color,” said Ellenbogen.
CAMBA’s Brownsville In, Violence Out program—supported by a $25,000 Invest in Youth grant—builds on the “Cure Violence” approach to treating gun violence like a public health issue in a neighborhood with one of the highest crime rates in the city.
“Anytime there is a crisis moment, violence interrupters are called in," said CAMBA’s VP of Education and Youth Development Wesner Pierre. “We are there instantly and our staff is from the community. Gun violence is a cause and effect, it’s not sporadic. In order to prevent violence, you have to get in front of it through mediation and interruption. That’s the medicine for the infection. If we don’t respond as soon as possible, we can see it spread throughout the community.”
H.O.L.L.A! — How Our Lives Link Altogether! works with youth of color citywide who face a complexity of challenges and trauma—from being victims of violence, to having been incarcerated, to being undocumented, to facing gender and sexual orientation discrimination—and focuses on healing as a first step in building community and collective power to take on injustice.
