Shootings and Violence

By Mia Tiburcio and Jahrynn Garcia 

Did you know that 117,345 people  are shot here in the US? Other forms of violence, when people physically hurt other people, are also very high and common, it feels like we live in a very dangerous time. We don't have to look very far to know that gun violence is very real and happens everywhere. 

Our neighborhood, the Flatbush neighborhood that is between Coney Island to the West, 

Flatbush to the East, Prospect Park to the North and Nostrand Ave to the South is where most of us MS 890 students live. I  (Mia) live in Newkirk and I (Jahrynn) live in Beverly and have lived here all of our lives. Sometimes, at night, we hear gunshots, a chilling reminder of the violence that surrounds us.  It makes us question our safety and what we could do to protect ourselves. Safety is not just one of our biggest priorities but an everyday battle.

Violence is always present, here in New York City. If we hear on the news violence happening near us, stories of shootings, robberies, and other crimes, things that happen daily. We  feel like we have to think of ways to keep ourselves away from that area because we wouldn't feel safe. This constant exposure to danger shapes the way we live. We avoid certain areas, we stay indoors more often, and we have to grow up with a more awareness of our surroundings. Guns are one of the biggest problems here in America. Guns give risks of school shootings, subway shootings, mass shootings, or people who just want violence and don't have any other way to satisfy themselves.

As we grow up in this kind of environment, it causes a lot of stress on our bodies and minds. We can’t hide in our homes so how can we make the world we live in a safer place for all of us? 

There has to be a better way to grow up, we have to fix our community and create a space where we don’t have to worry about someone attacking us or hurting us.