PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Dozens of violence prevention organizations are joining forces to demand that the City of Philadelphia allocate money in the upcoming budget to invest in solutions that stop the killing.
“We have an emergency on our hands, and it can’t wait any longer,” said Kallel Edwards, CeaseFirePA’s education fund organizer, at a public event Friday.
They brought together 43 trauma-informed, violence intervention, youth support and victim services groups to pen a letter. It calls on Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council to invest $100 million dollars from the upcoming budget into boots-on-the-ground efforts to stop the violence.
More than 130 people have been murdered in Philadelphia since January 1.
“We’re not just asking, we’re telling him to,” Edwards told the assembled crowd.
In the open letter, the coalition demands an investment into a community-based grant program for organizations that address violence, school-based prevention programs and a reopening of shuttered parks and recreation centers.
They want more transparency to accompany the investments, as well as more evaluation of what is working, to determine where additional investment is needed. The involved groups include EMIR, Unity in the Community, the Charles Foundation, Dare2Hope, D.I.V.A.S. Ministry and many others.
“We need to have more funding for programs that work with at-risk youth, young people who have lost their way,” said Greg Thompson. He runs a program called Don’t Fall Down in the Hood, at the Institute for Development of African-American Youth.
The organization specifically works with youth that have had contact with the criminal justice system, or are under state supervision. They provide support and life skills that help make change.
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"It’s a lot going on in the street right now. Anybody can get shot, and anybody can get killed at anytime," said Tyron, a young man who used to regularly carry a gun.
At 17 years old, he has already seen friends murdered. He was caught in the cycles of violence.
“On one hand, you don’t want to go to jail. On the other hand, you don’t want to die,” he said.
When Tyron got in trouble for a gun-based crime, IDAAY got to him. They taught him ways to navigate the violence in the neighborhood.
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Tyron explained his outlook has shifted.
“One thing that has changed, I don’t carry a gun anymore,” he said.
Many of the youth who spoke to KYW Newsradio say their lives are on the line every day. They stay home out of fear that going out will make them a target.
Although IDAAY says it has lost three young people to gun violence in the past year, it has been a lifesaver for many more.
“You're dealing with cops, you're dealing with people in your area, kidnappers,” said Reggie, 18, who lost a friend to gun violence this week.
“The only option I have is to stay in the house and come to my program.”
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“The more people that come in the program,” Tyron added, “the more of them that will change.”
The coalition’s "Open Letter to Mayor Kenney and City Council: Invest in Safer Communities" is demanding change immediately. They say there is no time to waste.
Philadelphia City Councilmembers Kenyatta Johnson and Jamie Gauthier, as well as Philadelphia State Senator Sharif Street, attended the rally.