PHILADELPHIA - The Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia is a unique organization that focuses on both proactive and reactive responses to violence in the city. We help children and youth resolve conflict nonviolently, while assisting victims and their families to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of violence. Our mission is to end the cycle of violence in Philadelphia through comprehensive and collaborative programs. We stand together with organizations such as CeaseFirePA because we firmly believe that gun violence is a multi-faceted problem and needs a strong proactive approach to curb violence in our neighborhoods.
From the organizers: AVP was founded almost 30 years ago as a support group for families who have lost a loved one to murder. We know firsthand the role that gun violence plays in these horrible tragedies and support the efforts to reduce gun violence in hopes that one day there will be fewer victims of violence in our city.
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EASTON - Guns Downs was created in 1996 by Khaliq Al-Shabazz and Rev. Clyde Mcrea to reduce gun violence in the city of Easton by running programs where people could turn in both legal and illegal guns. Sadly, Khaliq Al-Shabazz was shot and killed in 2005. Today, Guns Down is run by Khaliq’s two sisters, Carolyn and Patricia. Both sisters carry their brother’s spirit by organizing peace marches and holding free picnics for both family and friends of victims of gun violence as well as for members of the community.
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YORK - Operation Stand Up is an organization that aims to bridge the gap between the local police force and members of the community. We work to ensure that the community is aware of their rights, handle civil complaints and engage in youth mentorship programs. Operation Standup also coordinates with various violence prevention groups that engage in grass roots organizing to fight the proliferation of illegal handguns.
From the organizer: "At Operation Standup, we believe that it is important to reduce the number of illegal guns entering into our community. We believe that we need tougher punishments for straw purchasers and believe that we need to fix the broken background check system that allows for dangerous people to carry deadly weapons in our neighborhoods."
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CHESTER - Concerned Citizens of Chester is a collaborative of organizations addressing issues such as violence prevention, substance abuse, assisting the elderly, mentoring the youth, as while as educating others on topics such as domestic abuse. Concerned Citizens of Chester mission is to empower the community to take the necessary steps toward healing and restoration.
From the organizer: "A lot of lives are being lost to gun violence and our community is being deeply affected. It's time that we stand up for our neighborhoods and put an end to the violence."
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PHILADELPHIA - In 1999, YVRP was launched as a collaborative effort involving law enforcement, city agencies and nonprofits. These organizations are working together to reduce youth homicide and other violent crime in Philadelphia's most lawless areas; the initiative provides support and supervision to youth deemed most likely to kill or be killed. P/PV has undertaken several studies of the YVRP model: an implementation study, a study of street workers, and a formal impact study with a comparison group composed of similar youth from high-risk Philadelphia police districts that are not currently implementing YVRP.
From the organizer: "The reduction of gun violence especially within high crime low income neighborhoods is currently an extreme matter of concern with regards to a variety of quality of life crimes that escalate heavily when alcohol, illegal drugs and firearms are mixed in a deadly combination that creates urban terrorism fear on our streets. In addition to adding to the fire unemployment, behavior health concerns, reduced social services and straw firearm purchases in making guns available to those prohibited by law. If you add all this up and it becomes similar to poring a bucket of blood into shark infested waters before jumping into the water for a swim."
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PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy (PCVA) is a membership coalition of organizations and individuals that provide direct services, advocacy, and assistance to victims, co-victims, and witnesses of crime in Philadelphia. Our members have seen time and time again the irrevocable consequences that gun violence has not only on individuals, but their family, friends and wider community. We support a pro-active approach to tackling gun violence in our city so that there will be fewer victims struggling to cope with this problem in our local communities.
From the organizers: As a coalition of agencies that focus on assistance to victims, we know first-hand the damage done to countless lives by gun violence. People are not born victims, they are victimized by others who infringe on their personal rights and in cases where a gun is involved the results are often deadly. Together as a community we need to be proactive in our approach to dealing with gun violence in our city.
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PHILADELPHIA - Mocha Moms was created in May 1997 when Jolene Ivey and Karla Chutz began publishing a newsletter in the hopes of connecting with other mothers of color across the country to encourage these mothers to provide information to enrich their parenting experience. The number one concern of any mother is the safety of her children. As a mothers support group that focuses heavily on community involvement, we believe that taking a stand against gun violence is crucial in maintaining the quality of life in our neighborhoods and securing the welfare of our children.
From the organizers: Gun violence is one of the most serious threats to our children today and no community is immune from its perilous consequences. We need to band together in every way possible to prevent gun violence from harming our children and neighborhoods
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STATEWIDE - We are striving to build a powerful constituency of voters to advocate for stricter, more meaningful, common sense gun laws in Pennsylvania and their enforcement through petition, legislative advocacy and the ballot box. Violent crime involving illegal handguns in Pennsylvania has risen substantially in recent years. The number of children and teenagers involved in gun violence, both as victims and shooters, continues to grow while Pennsylvania’s gun legislation remains weak and ineffective. While polls show public support of revisions to current laws to decrease illegal handguns, nothing has changed.
From the organizers: In PA, gun violence is responsible for the deaths of 1,200 people each year and ranks #6 in the nation for handgun homicides involving children. At this point, it's become a public health hazard. We live in a state where too many children have died from gun violence. It's that simple. Pennsylvania's high rate of gun violence is a national disgrace. Each time a child pulls the trigger and kills another child, two families are destroyed. I think Pennsylvanians are ready to stop this travesty.
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PITTSBURGH, PA - One Vision One Life is an initiative of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services Office of Community Services. One Vision One Life works with targeted communities to reduce or eliminate violence by: 1) identifying, training and developing a team of community coordinators who will be active in (and informed about) their communities; 2) systematically collecting and utilizing street-level intelligence to intervene in petty disputes, turf battles and gang/group incidents before they become shootings and homicides; and 3) reaching out to those at risk for violence with services, jobs and assistance so they are no longer at risk for violence.
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PITTSBURGH, PA (The Hill District) - The Coalition Against Gun Violence was launched by the Pittsburgh Black Political Empower Project was founded in 2007, and has since been actively working to identify and facilitate the implementation of strategies and initiatives to address the issue of violence and crime that plagues our communities. Diligently working to move our documents from “paper to possibility…from planning to implementation,” the Coalition Against Violence feels that we can dramatically shift the paradigm from having a culture of complacency and complaint about community violence, to fostering a culture of cooperation and collaboration that, we strongly feel, can bring about lasting change and, perhaps, an end to the violence and crime in our communities.
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