By: Dajah French
Deadly violence continues to plague Philadelphia’s streets. There have been 56 homicides as of February 26th. Philly is already at more than 30% the number of homicides in 2020 than where it was at this point last year. As police investigate all of the homicides, city leaders are saying, “Enough is enough. We can’t keep seeing our babies being murdered in the streets of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson said.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson
Mayor Jim Kenney
Mayor Jim Kenney had something to say about the out of control gun violence as well, Mayor Jim Kenney aims to reduce the number of homicides in Philadelphia by 30% from 2018’s total, equalling 247 homicides annually. That figure was nearly reached in 2014. The last time there were fewer than 247 homicides was in 1967.
High school students are also taking a stand. In January, at this year's women's march, students and adults from all over marched to the Philadelphia art museum. Cyniah Drew, 15, and Kareema Chisolm, 17 are youth gun violence activists. And they wanted the Women’s March attendees to understand how inaction on preventative gun violence measures have affected their lives. Organizations in Philadelphia are finding creative ways to keep children safe and out of trouble amid rising gun violence in the city. According to city data, more than 90 people have been shot through Jan. 18, eleven of those victims were children 17 years or younger. “NOMO”, New Options, More Opportunities created an event called, Stay Safe Saturday “designed for youth to be able to come out on a Saturday, spend the whole day with NOMO and we know that they’re safe, sound and secure. To have fun, to be able to be kids again,” NOMO Executive Director Rickey Duncan said. Ways you can help stand up against gun violence is joining marches, staying busy, joining neighborhood groups, and working with police. Other ways is to keep your neighborhood clean, and well lit because if not, it will make people think you don’t care about your neighbors or your area which will attract criminals.
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