WASHINGTON — As youth violence continues to be a crisis in D.C., one group is working to prevent kids from picking up guns in the first place.
The TRIGGER Project or the 'True Reasons I Grabbed the Gun Evolved from Risks' has worked for years to understand the person behind the gun and offer them alternative conflict resolution tools.
Starting Monday, April 24, they're hosting a week of events for National Youth Violence Prevention Week.
With a 16-year-old killed a couple weeks ago and a 12-year-old shot over the weekend, violence is top of mind for founder Tia Bell.
“Right now in our city, gun violence is manifesting as it is -- as a disease. That's plaguing our youth population right now," Bell said.
As of April 21, homicides are up 26% in D.C., according to police data.
Firearms are also now the number one cause of death for children in the U.S.
“I'm heartbroken. And I'm just disheartened," Bell said.
Bell said the key is treating gun violence through a public health lens instead of just a public safety viewpoint.
“If you think about it like a mosquito bite, the vector is the mosquito. So the bullet is the vector and we approach it and try to prevent it through an intersection of positive youth development and public health," she said.
From this week of events to going into schools to collaborating with other anti-violence groups, Bell is planting the seeds of change.
“Right now, everything is reactionary. So our youth are going to rise up. They're going to be examples and models of pro social behavior and models of self regulation and self control," Bell said. "And they're going to be models of people who use their words. And before we know it, we'll be using words instead of bullets.”
Here's the list of events:
- Monday: Assembly at SEED PCS from 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
- Tuesday: TRIGGER at 7 p.m. via Zoom - Youth and organizers will plan 2023 End Gun Violence Conference (slated for June 2)
- Wednesday: TRIGGER BINGO on Instagram Live starting at 4 p.m.
- Thursday: Assembly at Alice Deal MS at 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
- Friday: Wear Orange for Gun Violence Awareness