Gun Violence Is A Public Health Issue
Today's interview with Shaina Harrison with NYAGV
Shaina on grief and trauma communities deal with due to gun violence: "I think you know when I think about trauma, and especially working in the communities that I serve, I understand that the young folks that I'm working with don't want, they don't have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, right? They, nothing is "post" with them. They're living through this every single day. They lose folks so much that they don't even know that it's traumatizing, right. A lot of times this stuff just seems like it's normal. And it's like, what just happens in their community. What I would like folks to understand is that we're talking about real people, we're talking about mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers here. And I know that we can have rights, and we can also be safe. And I need folks to understand that we can have both of those conversations. At the same time. The fact of the matter is, America cannot afford gun violence, like we just can't, right. I remember reading a news article, right after the beginning of COVID-19 hit, it literally said, Please stop shooting, we do not have any more beds, right. Like the hospitals were packed with folks who had COVID, they couldn't even assess like, you know, the people who are coming in the shooting, shooting victims who are coming in right at a moment where every dollar counts, our federal, state, and local governments are spending a combined average of $34 million each day to deal with the aftermath of gun violence across the country. Like the total annual bill for taxpayers, survivors, families, employers, you know, and communities is 20, what $280 billion, right? We're spending so much money on gun violence when we could be taking that money, and actually putting it into resources that can keep our community safe. So I think for me, I really would want people to understand what the real impact is when it comes to gun violence in this country. And also think about this idea of protection. If we have more than half of the people who are dying from gun violence or dying from suicide. It really questions this idea of whether or not guns protect you, right? It's 22 times more likely to be killed someone you love, or yourself when you have a gun in your home, right? You don't like this. These are real statistics, the real facts, the real people, we are losing so much when it comes to, you know, gun violence, and we really need to have that conversation. How much is this actually costing us?"
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Shaina on grief and trauma communities deal with due to gun violence: "I think you know when I think about trauma, and especially working in the communities that I serve, I understand that the young folks that I'm working with don't want, they don't have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, right? They, nothing is "post" with them. They're living through this every single day. They lose folks so much that they don't even know that it's traumatizing, right. A lot of times this stuff just seems like it's normal. And it's like, what just happens in their community. What I would like folks to understand is that we're talking about real people, we're talking about mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers here. And I know that we can have rights, and we can also be safe. And I need folks to understand that we can have both of those conversations. At the same time. The fact of the matter is, America cannot afford gun violence, like we just can't, right. I remember reading a news article, right after the beginning of COVID-19 hit, it literally said, Please stop shooting, we do not have any more beds, right. Like the hospitals were packed with folks who had COVID, they couldn't even assess like, you know, the people who are coming in the shooting, shooting victims who are coming in right at a moment where every dollar counts, our federal, state, and local governments are spending a combined average of $34 million each day to deal with the aftermath of gun violence across the country. Like the total annual bill for taxpayers, survivors, families, employers, you know, and communities is 20, what $280 billion, right? We're spending so much money on gun violence when we could be taking that money, and actually putting it into resources that can keep our community safe. So I think for me, I really would want people to understand what the real impact is when it comes to gun violence in this country. And also think about this idea of protection. If we have more than half of the people who are dying from gun violence or dying from suicide. It really questions this idea of whether or not guns protect you, right? It's 22 times more likely to be killed someone you love, or yourself when you have a gun in your home, right? You don't like this. These are real statistics, the real facts, the real people, we are losing so much when it comes to, you know, gun violence, and we really need to have that conversation. How much is this actually costing us?"
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