Federal funding aims to stamp out gun violence in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - Can hospital-based programs focused on treating the victims of gun violence and their families lead to lowering rates of violence in Pennsylvania's communities? Local, state, and federal officials who gathered in Philadelphia Friday hope so.
At Temple University Hospital, the fight against gun violence starts in the trauma center. Families are met by "crisis responders" as their loved ones receive lifesaving treatment, bedside therapy and help finding work when they’ve recovered.
"This model has been proven to reduce gun violence, save lives by intervening at a critical moment when survivors of violence are here in the hospital," Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Austin Davis said Friday.
Temple believes its efforts are in-part responsible for a drop in the number of shooting victims it’s seeing from more than 900 in 2022 to just under 700 last year.
To support similar efforts across the Commonwealth, in underserved communities, Pennsylvania has won a $4M federal grant announced Friday at Temple.
"Too many Americans, myself, and my staff, are scarred by gun violence too many Americans have had a close encounter with gun violence." said U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat representing the 5th District.
It’s a message echoed on the streets of North Philly just yards from the hospital’s front door. 18-year-old Saheed Edwards said he lives in fear of gun fire.
"I can’t even enjoy my teen years at parties because they just randomly are shot up in the middle of them or you’ll be sleeping at night and hear tons of bullets going off," Edwards told FOX 29's Jeff Cole.
According to Philadelphia Police, homicides are dropping in the city with 152 fewer killings this year than last. But for residents like Robert Neal, whose son was shot months ago, the progress doesn't resonate.
"He’s standing there waiting for a funeral procession to start, and they started running down the street shooting at each other," said Neal, who called the day his son was shot the most terrifying thing he's been through. "He got caught in the crossfire, he could have lost his life that night."
There’s hope programs like Temple’s will continue to stem violence, but obstacles remain. Pa. Rep. Joanna McClinton, a Democrat representing the 191st. District and the Speaker of the State House, said, "it is unacceptable, but it is both a mindset and access to weapons that’s causing generations to lose ground."