PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The shooting death of a 9-year-old North Philadelphia girl has increased the calls to re-open schools during the pandemic. Advocates say virtual in-home schooling has left kids vulnerable.
"You lose a young child, it impacts the entire community," said George Mosee, who runs the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network, or PAAN.
Related
The girl was shot by a 5-year-old. The two, along with a 12-year-old, had been left unsupervised with two guns in the home. The incident happened just before 11 a.m., when kids are normally in school.
"One of the realities of school in working-class communities is that they provide childcare," Mosee said.
Many working-class families have a choice: Go to work outside their home and leave their kids unattended; or stay home and lose their job. The fact that the three children were unsupervised in the middle of the day is not surprising. However, having two guns in the house left the kids vulnerable to tragedy.
Councilmember Curtis Jones and other members of Philadelphia City Council spoke out Thursday about the need for schools to re-open. Jones cited an uptick in human trafficking.
"For some people, the only predictable safe space is in a school," Jones said.
School Board Member Dr. Maria McColgan says there’s been an uptick in child abuse, neglect, even torture.
"We need to get kids back into school as soon as possible," she said.
Child advocates have also seen an uptick in suicide attempts among kids.
Mosee works to prevent that violence. He says the reality is families need to go to work.
"And if their young children are in school, they know they’re safe, they’re protected, they're supervised, they're surveilled," he said. "And the pandemic has removed all of that."
With fewer adults helping to identify problems as the vaccine rollout continues, child advocates are sounding the alarm. More than 100 kids were shot in Philadelphia last year.
In the meantime, crisis lines and free gun locks are available. Residents should call the Community Crisis Intervention team at 215-800-4611 or request a free gun lock online.