By: Rumi Sheikh
April 3rd, 2024
Nearly 100 children in Philadelphia were shot in 2023, and 1331 children have been shot since 2015. 94% of them were attending a Philadelphia School District school. With gun violence running rampant near schools, and directly impacting schools, how is one supposed to feel safe in a place of learning?
On March 6, 2024, 8 students attending Northeast High School were waiting at a bus stop when 4 shooters opened fire on them. The next day the students were expected to still return virtually. None of the students were given a day off, the school district did not send regards to students, and most of all the mass shooting didn't even make national news. It has become so normalized that we don't even bat an eye at a mass shooting occurring involving students. However, the most concerning part about all of this is that nobody seems to consider the students' mental health, and how this normalization of gun violence will affect them.
“Hearing about shootings involving my peers around me all the time, and seeing my own school going into lockdowns doesn't make me feel safe in a school environment, these are shootings that you see on the news, but now I know the people getting shot.” said a Junior at Carver E&S.
These effects on students lead them on a very dangerous path, a slippery slope that can cause mental health issues and result in more violence. Some students may get in trouble at school due to violent outbursts related to trauma and PTSD from gun violence, and it doesn't make them feel secure in any way. This is why we need to ensure that there are adults, and programs in place to talk about these issues.
“We have resources for these students that are affected by gun violence, our new goal is to put things in place to accommodate these students” Said Mr. Sanchez, a social worker with the STEP program at Carver E&S. “We have been able to reach out to students to make sure they feel not alone.”
When a student loses someone due to gun violence it can have a lot of effects on their academics. Especially when they are constantly reminded that gun violence is very real in their school. Examples of this are security systems in schools always assuming that students are always doing something wrong. These types of practices in schools often lead to a very tense environment for students who are going through something, someone always suspicious, and teachers always looking to find something wrong, these things only make students act out more.
“I've lost some people to gun violence, and I don't think many schools do a great job at being able to comfort students who have to come to this building. I feel like i'm reminded that I myself could be a shooter, or a victim with the way the school system is, feels like I'm always being watched by some adults” Said another Junior Carver E&S student.
On a more hopeful note, there are some practices being done at Carver revolving around helping students with these issues and letting them know that there is someone there for them and that they aren't going through their struggles alone. We have a meeting that most of the school attends every Wednesday, called “Morning Pathway.” These pathways often consist of guest speakers coming to speak with students about common issues that many may face living in Philadelphia. Recently Pastor Bishop Richard Knox, a motivational speaker specializing in youth diversion. came to talk to students about issues specific to gun violence, and he would explain how his teenage years were full of trouble. He also described how he overcame these issues around him, and then he interacted with us students to let us know he was there for teenagers going through similar issues. Many staff also attend these meetings, letting students know that they don't have to suffer in silence, and can get help and counseling from these trusted adults.
“But the goal of morning pathways was to put resources in front of every student so we had partners from the LBGTQ q plus community, we had sexual health partners, we had gun violence partners, we had mentors, we had different community members come and give out those resources so that you guys can see that they're there” Said Mr. Sanchez.
Page updated
Report abuse