Applying the CCAP model to gun violence

Ardene Robinson Vollman

Post date: Feb 22, 2021

The Toronto Star story “Under the Gun” (Ngabo & Plana, 2021 Jan 30) about neighbourhood gun violence in Toronto resonates with Chapter 37 in Canadian Community as Partner 5e. In the article, Reverend Sky Starr (the chapter co-author) was featured, speaking to her personal response to gunshots heard in her neighbourhood and her professional concern about the trauma gun violence has on the community.

The story of gun violence in some of Toronto’s hardest-hit neighbourhoods was revealed through an analysis of a year of Twitter alerts from the Toronto Police Service about gunshots, shootings, investigations, and false alarms. In the article, the number of 911 calls about gun violence is shown on a map of Toronto communities, with hot spots indicated in bright red. Ngabo and Plano note: “This map resembles the layout of poverty and wealth in Toronto.”

If we were to use the CCAP model to understand the issues, we would complete a community assessment and find ways to engage the community in planning an intervention, rather than doing “to” or “for” the community at risk of gun violence.

Community assessment: An analysis of these hot spots by Ngabo and Plano reveals these are neighbourhoods inhabited largely by people of colour and immigrants living with poverty. Interviews the reporters conducted with community leaders in the Jane-Finch area found that there is little opportunity, services, and resources for people that live in the area, particularly the youth. Schools reportedly operate in difficult circumstances, there is a lack of employment opportunities (provoking youth gang activity), and there are limited recreation opportunities (and fear to use them because of the threat of violence). The area is more heavily and aggressively policed than communities with fewer gun-related issues, leading to anger, resentment, and outrage in community members.

Community health diagnosis: Residents suffer depression, PTSD, fear, and anxiety due to the stress and trauma they experience.

Community engagement and planning: Community leaders and safety activists call for innovative ways to create community safety and interrupt the “rhythm of gun violence” – by building relationships, connecting with youth, and providing ongoing support for anti-poverty interventions, resources, and services.

Intervention: In their CCCAP5e chapter, Sky Starr and Annette Bailey outline their efforts in the Out of Bounds program to support mothers of children killed by gun violence in the Jane-Finch area of Toronto. The Toronto Star article also featured efforts by the Zero Gun Violence Movement, the Jane and Finch Community Family Centre, and others dedicated to eliminating gun violence through community interventions and support.

Discussion: Gun violence is a public health issue. According to the CBC documentary “The Year of the Gun” (2018) and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) Position Statement (2018), there are some surprising numbers relating to gun violence in Canada that underscore the concern in this country:

• Canada ranks 5th (as of 2010) among 36 OECD nations in the number of gun deaths per capita, behind the USA, Finland, Austria, and France.

• Toronto experienced 428 shooting incidents in 2018, which is 2.5 times the number in 2014.

• According to Statistics Canada there was a record 33% drop in gun-related crime across the country between 2009 and 2013; but the rate of gun-related crime in Canada has increased by 42% since 2013, due in large part to the increasing number of victims in Toronto.

• In 2017, there were 7,700 victims of firearm-involved crimes in Canada.

• 55% of firearm-related homicides in 2017 were committed using a handgun.

• In November 2017, the federal government announced approximately $327.6 million over five years (starting in 2018–19), and $100 million annually thereafter, in new federal funding to tackle the increase in gun-related violence and gang activity in Canada.

Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), stated in an opinion article in The Guardian (2015): “To reverse the gun violence epidemic—and it’s important that we use the word ‘epidemic’—we need to do the same thing we’d do for any infectious disease outbreak. We should track it, find the root causes, use science to find research gaps, create policy solutions, and use mass public education campaigns to eradicate the threat.”

Swannie Jett, of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), stated: “[Gun violence] can be prevented through a comprehensive public health approach that keeps families and communities safe. NACCHO supports core public health activities necessary to eradicate gun violence: (1) conductingsurveillanceto track firearm-related deaths, determine causes, and assess intervention methods; (2) identifying risk factors associated with gun violence (e.g., poverty and depression) and resilience or protective factors that guard against violence (e.g., youth access to trusted adults); (3) developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to decrease risk factors and build resilience; and (4) institutionalizing successful prevention strategies.”

In Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) has no official policy statement about gun violence. However, a public forum at Public Health 2017 in Halifax discussed the issue. In a press statement, Ian Culbert, Executive Director of CPHA, said: “We know that violence is often a symptom of larger problems, and so we look at those upstream issues, such as education, income, housing, that can lead to violence, and so that’s a public health approach to violence prevention.” He called for investment in community centres, education, and quality housing.

References:

Austin, K. & Lane, M. (2018). Position Statement: The prevention of firearm injuries in Canadian youth. Canadian Paediatric Society, Adolescent Health Committee, Ottawa, Ontario. Paediatrics & Child Health, 23(1): 35-42. https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/the-prevention-of-firearm-injuries-in-canadian-youth

Benjamin, G. (2015). Gun violence is an epidemic. It is time for a public health response [Opinion]. The Guardian, December 4. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/04/gun-violence-epidemic-shooting-deaths-public-health-policy

CBC Docs POV. (2018). Year of the Gun. https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/gun-violence-by-the-numbers

Jett, S. (2016). Gun violence: A public health crisis in America’s streets. NACCHO Voice, Jan 13. https://www.naccho.org/blog/articles/gun-violence-a-public-health-crisis-in-americas-streets

NACCHO. (2013). Policy Statement: Prevention of Firearm-Related Injury and Death. http://www.naccho.org/uploads/downloadable-resources/99-03-firearm-control.pdf

Ngabo, G. & Plana, A. (2021). ‘Everyone that I know, that I grew up with, has PTSD’: What an interactive map of police tweets says about routine gun violence in Toronto. Toronto Star, Jan. 30. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/01/30/how-police-tweets-reveal-an-untold-story-of-routine-gun-violence-in-torontos-hardest-hit-communities.html

Prevention Institute. (2017). Summary of recommendations to prevent gun violence. Oakland, CA: Author. https://www.preventioninstitute.org/sites/default/files/publications/Summary%20of%20Recommendations%20to%20Prevent%20Gun%20Violence.pdf