Philadelphia gun violence and prevention report: June 16, 2021

Above: The first production from the Credible Messenger Reporting Project focuses on three co-victims of gun violence who worked together to show the long-lasting effects it can have on friends, family and community members. [PCGVR]

From Access to Empowerment

• Now streaming: Last week the Stoneleigh Foundation hosted an expert panel on elevating equity and community voice beyond the pandemic. Speakers also addressed solutions to community gun violence. [Stoneleigh Foundation via Eventbrite/YouTube]

Opinion

• “If we are to decrease gun violence, we must start by listening to the men who are living it. And then we must spend the money where it belongs — on them.” [@SolomonJones1 via The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Conversation

• The local journalist behind the Philly Under Fire Podcast and a leading national gun violence prevention journalist will meet online tonight and you can attend for free. [The Philadelphia Citizen]

On the road

• Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas traveled to visit The Gun Violence Memorial Project with two Philadelphia mothers who had donated keepsakes to honor their sons who had been shot to death. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

By the numbers

• The latest Philadelphia Police weekly citywide major crimes report shows 54 people shot in the city during the seven-day period ending Sunday, amounting to this year’s second-highest weekly total. Police reported 99 people shot during the first two weeks of this month in Philadelphia and revised last month’s total up to 193. [Philadelphia Police via Google Drive/data.phila.gov]

• Philadelphia’s year-to-date homicide total — 250 as of late last night — now exceeds the number of people killed in the city throughout all 12 months of both 2013 and 2014 . [PhillyPolice.com]

Visiting Philadelphia

• Gun violence prevention advocates from other cities came to Philadelphia last week and made a contribution to several local organizations. [The Philadelphia Tribune]

Editorial

• “Sending out probation officers as outreach workers without much to offer besides jail time is unlikely to reverse Philadelphia’s shooting trend.” [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Timeline

• The House of Umoja has been a hub for violence prevention in Philadelphia for 50 years. [The Good Men Project]

Ghost guns

• Philadelphia Police recovered 250 ghost guns during all of 2020. This year, they’ve already exceeded that number. [6ABC]

Mark your calendars

• On June 27, the Lower Merion Gun Violence Awareness Day will include the Memorial to the Lost tee-shirt display as well as a vigil and opportunities for advocacy [Heeding God’s Call via MailChimp]

Solution of the week

• A new proposal would make San José the first city in the nation to require every gun owner to have liability insurance and pay a fee to compensate taxpayers for the public cost of gun-related injuries and death. [sanjoseca.gov]

Help wanted

• Philadelphia’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Cluster is looking for two people to join its team as Case Managers for the Group Violence Intervention strategy run from the Office of Violence Prevention. [City of Philadelphia via smartrecruiters.com]

Recognized

• Our old friends from the  Guns & America reporting project were honored with a Pulitzer Prize last week. We will always be grateful for their contribution to the Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit. [Poynter via @KendedaFund/IBGVR]

Welcome to the Center

• Our new project manager Charlotte Barron is focused on expanding our network, developing a centralized directory of gun violence experts and working on one very cool project that we will be rolling out soon. [PCGVR/Instagram]