Gun violence that occurs in public places – streets, parks, front porches-impacts the entire community. The trauma of community gun violence extends beyond those who are directly injured by a shooting to those in the community who are exposed as a witness, neighbor, classmate, or acquaintance. Gun violence exposure has lasting impacts on the physical and mental health and well-being of individuals and their communities. When individuals feel isolated, afraid to leave their homes, interact with neighbors, and participate in community functions, the health of the overall community is adversely impacted.
Community gun violence is concentrated in poor, segregated, and disinvested neighborhoods with few economic opportunities. These neighborhoods have suffered from a legacy of racist and discriminatory public policies which create the conditions for violence. Consequently, Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by community gun violence; they suffer from a gun homicide rate 14 times higher than their white peers.
A small number of people within these disinvested neighborhoods drive most of the violence. They are often caught in cycles of victimization, trauma, and retaliation, are disconnected from work and school, and lack the community supports to help them heal.
The Solutions
For generations, policing and incarceration have been the primary means to address gun violence in underserved communities and often these systems have been ineffective and perpetuated or exacerbated racial inequities. Community violence intervention programs are designed to reduce gun violence in the most impacted neighborhoods through outreach by credible messengers who work with individuals involved in gun violence. These programs are most effective when cities and states invest in comprehensive intervention and prevention efforts that engage a wide range of stakeholders and community leaders. A number of strategies are outlined below that work to identify individuals at highest risk for violence, leverage community support to change behaviors, and interrupt cycles of violence. Models employed locally should be data-driven and informed by the affected communities.
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