Mothers in Charge seek to stop gun violence through education, intervention

Chris O'Connell reports on how one Philadelphia group is working to help stop gun violence.

NORTH PHILADELPHIA - It’s a club no mom wants to be in: a room full of mothers touched in one way by gun violence.

"We’ve got to save ourselves," said Dr. Patricia Griffin.

Doctor Griffin joined the group "Mothers in Charge" when her son, Darien, was killed in 2003.

"If we see something, we have to do something. We can’t let other people solve our problems, because we’re the ones that’s in the neighborhoods walking the streets," Dr. Griffin stated.

Tuesday night, the group met in person for the first time since the recent uptick in gun violence. The group is trying to use their first hand experience of pain to prevent future violence by intervention.

"You got to get people, one person, one block, one neighborhood, one community, one city at a time," Archbishop Mary Floyd Palmer, of Heavenly Hall Church, explained.

They say the violence issue is a community issue.

"There’s many, many different ways the community can get involved. They can join a Mothers in Charge, they can mentor young children, who, many times, are without a parent," Founder of Mothers in Charge Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight stated.

The group is also calling for cash. Federal COVID Recovery Assistance for things like rec centers, summer jobs and after-school programs. Real solutions they say worked before.

"We can intervene in young peoples’ lives. We can turn some of these young people around and give them greater opportunities than we’re giving them now," Senior Pastor at Janes United Methodist Church Reverend Gregory Holston stated.