Urban Gun Violence: Self-Help Organizations as Healing Sites, Catalysts for Change, and Collaborative Partners (Interpersonal Violence)

Gun violence occurs in urban areas more than it does anywhere else, and youth of color in these areas are disproportionately impacted in the United States. How can we approach this? What can we do to stop this from happening in the first place? In addition to trying to bolster the barriers one must cross to acquire a gun, we must also focus on the communities struggling with this abuse. In this book, Melvin Delgado approaches this nationwide issue with a specific focus on the victims: detailing the primary issues surrounding gun violence, what social workers can do about it, and why it is critical for those in the field to get involved. Delgado identifies the current strategies used by social workers, providing professionals with the tools necessary to identify key problems before they escalate enough to lead to violence. He also discusses ways to reshape the education social workers receive to make sure they keep these racial injustices in mind in their approaches. Self-help organizations can intervene and potentially reduce the number of gun-related deaths that occur in cities nationwide, but we too often do not look to them after a shooting. Urban Gun Violence presents opportunities for improvement based on the work done by urban self-help organizations in the past. Building off of these organizations from across the US--from Louis D. Brown Peace Institution in Boston to the Community Justice Reform Coalition in San Francisco--Delgado illustrates how social workers can advocate for minority communities impacted by this lethal weapon. With chapters spanning everything from how people obtain guns--legally and illegally--to lessons from the field, the book outlines the path toward successful intervention. Cover Half Title Series Urban Gun Violence Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments SECTION I Setting the Context 1. Overview and Context Introduction Urban Self-​Help Organizations: One Story Book Scope and Goals Gun Violence, Social Sciences, and Helping Professions Labeling Gun Violence Trauma and Post-​Traumatic Stress: A Brief Overview Social Sciences and Helping Professionals and Gun Violence Urban Gun Violence Source of Urban Guns (Legal and Illegal) Motivation for Carrying and Using a Gun Co-​Victims of Urban Violence Gun Violence and Justice? Media, Violence, and People of Color Street Workers and Gun Violence Strengths, Resiliency, and Assets Conclusion 2. An Overview of Urban Self-​Help Organizations Introduction Brief Definition Key Elements Goals and Mission of Urban Self-​Help Organizations Prevention Providing an Avenue for Community Participation Validating and Empowering Blending Formal and Informal (Experiential) Education Culture in Help-​Seeking and Help-​Giving Victim as Helper Social Activism Community Engagement and Assets Constructing New Identities Obtaining Help Without Stigmatization Participation at the Level Sought Conclusion 3. Three Case Illustrations (Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.) Introduction Case Selection Process and Criteria Case Illustrations Outline Three Case Illustrations Boston: The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Chicago: MASK (Mothers/​Men Against Senseless Killing) Washington, D.C.: TraRon Center Conclusion SECTION II Multifaceted Dimensions 4. Understanding the Crisis of Urban Gun Violence Introduction Intentional Harm—​Injuries Intentional Harm—​Homicides Urban Scope People of Color Scope Youth Scope Conclusion 5. Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Perspectives Introduction Social Viewpoint Political Viewpoint Economic Viewpoint Challenges in Arriving at Cost Estimates The Business of Guns and Ammunition Health and Social Service Costs Indirect Costs to Real Estate Taxes The Cost of Funerals Lost Productivity Cultural Viewpoint Conclusion 6. Approaches to Preventing and Intervening With Gun Violence Introduction Values and Concepts Underpinning Successful Community Interventions Community Empowerment Participatory Democracy Strengths/​Resiliency/​Assets First Collaborations/​Partnerships Social Justice Major Gun Violence Community Interventions Conclusion 7. Cross-​Cutting Themes Introduction Women as Activists and Healers Qualities of a Leader Principles of Urban Self-​Help Organizations and Lessons for the Field Support From Many Different Sources Place and Space Different Needs for Different Folks Healing Can Transpire in Many Different Urban Places The Power of the Group Danger and Self-​Help Organizations Never Alone: The Importance of Collaborations Conclusion 8. Recommendations for Education, Research, and Community Practice Introduction Education Research Community Practice Conclusion Epilogue Introduction A Trip Down Memory Lane Is Gun Violence a Signature Element of American Exceptionalism? Please Check Your Ego at the Door A Ride Unlike Any Other Funerals and Burials as Sites for Interventions Deeper Insight Into the Consequences of Gun Violence Knowledge Equals Power The Nation Is Changing Mapping Gun Violence and Self-​Help Gun Reform and Mass Killings First Stop the Bleeding and Then . . . A Hazardous Road Ahead Conclusion References Index Gun violence occurs in urban areas more than it does anywhere else, and youth of color in these areas are disproportionately impacted in the United States. How can we approach this? What can we do to stop this from happening in the first place? In addition to trying to bolster the barriers one must cross to acquire a gun, we must also focus on the communities struggling with this abuse. In this book, Melvin Delgado approaches this nationwide issue with a specific focus on the victims: detailing the primary issues surrounding gun violence, what social workers can do about it, and why it is critical for those in the field to get involved.Delgado identifies the current strategies used by social workers, providing professionals with the tools necessary to identify key problems before they escalate enough to lead to violence. He also discusses ways to reshape the education social workers receive to make sure they keep these racial injustices in mind in their approaches. Self-help organizations can intervene and potentially reduce the number of gun-related deaths that occur in cities nationwide, but we too often do not look to them after a shooting. Urban Gun Violence presents opportunities for improvement based on the work done by urban self-help organizations in the past. Building off of these organizations from across the US--from Louis D. Brown Peace Institution in Boston to the Community Justice Reform Coalition in San Francisco--Delgado illustrates how social workers can advocate for minority communities impacted by this lethal weapon.With chapters spanning everything from how people obtain guns--legally and illegally--to lessons from the field, the book outlines the path toward successful intervention. "Gun violence is a national threat and no more so than in the nation's urban communities, particularly taking its toll on people of color. Urban violence focused self-help organizations are vehicles for the dead to speak to us, and let us not forget that they once lived among us. These voices get captured and amplified through these organizations - their family become our family. The headlines their deaths created are not allowed to get relegated to history and continue to live giving meaning to a profound social justice cause. This book honors those who have died and continuing to give voice to their lives and preventing others from joining this chorus. The theme that we must forgive ourselves before we can forgive the offender is strong and pervasive among those who are survivors and engaged in self-help initiatives"-- Provided by publisher