Unloading: Community Solutions for Gun Violence

Po lived next door to Adam Lanza and his family and knows intimately about the pain caused by the Sandy Hook shooting. She and other community members gathered briefly after the shooting to form the “Sandy Hook Promise.” with the mission to prevent tragedies from happening to other communities through advocacy and programs that teach youth and adults how to prevent violence and shootings. Po branched out to create the Newton Action Alliance, a volunteer grassroots organization that advocates for life-saving gun violence prevention policies. Po has been honored for Women's History Month by the Brady Campaign for her dedication to gun violence prevention and is leading the campaign urging Congress to pass the Protect Our Kids Act. Her organization produced the video: "Is this normal?" that was released around the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting.

To learn more about the Newtown Action Alliance and ways in which you can help advocate for legislative and cultural change, visit newtownactionalliance.org.

Ashley (she/her) is a junior at Hollywood High School in California, where she is a leader with Students Demand Action. Ashley first joined Students Demand Action as a participant in the 2021 South Central Los Angeles Summer Leadership Academy. Ashley’s community is heavily impacted by gun violence and she has endured numerous active shooter threats and drills throughout her schooling years, including coming face-to-face with a shooter when she was in elementary school. In December 2021, a bus carrying students home from Hollywood High School was hit by bullets.

Mia (she/her) is an eighteen year-old wounded survivor of the 2019 ghost gun mass shooting at Saugus High School. She is a passionate gun violence prevention advocate with Students Demand Action and other organizations. Mia is looking forward to applying to colleges this fall and finishing out her senior year at Saugus High School. She’s hoping to major in Psychology and work with other victims of violent crime, research ways to bridge the gap between community, law, and mental health, and use her personal experience of getting shot and losing her best friend in the shooting to help stop other senseless acts of gun violence.

To learn more about or get involved with Students Demand Action, you can visit studentsdemandaction.org.

Kat and Minorvi talk to Dr. Dennis Kuo, a pediatrician in Buffalo, NY who treats kids with disabilities and chronic conditions, including those impacted by gun violence. Dr. Kuo discusses how he talks to children and parents about firearms, the role of physicians in addressing the firearm death epidemic, and the importance of building community partnerships.

Kat and Minorvi interview Dr. Christine Castater, a trauma surgeon in Georgia who has been working to address the PTSD epidemic among physicians. She discusses second victim syndrome, PTSD in those responding to gun shot wounds, and her novel investigation of the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) intervention in trauma patients.

Kat and Minorvi talk to Adara Combs, a native Philadelphian and former prosecutor who was recently appointed to lead the Office of the Victim Advocate in Philadelphia, PA. The Office will be the first in the city and serve to champion the needs of crime victims. Adara Combs discusses the gun violence epidemic in Philadelphia and how this newly created Office seeks to respond to it.

Kat and Minorvi interview Lara Drino, a Los Angelos deputy city attorney who also leads the Children Exposed to Violence Initiative and the REACH Team in South LA. The REACH Team supports children and their families in the aftermath of gun violence. Lara discusses the use of organizational interventions, long-term mental health services, and community safety partnerships in the quest to diminish gun violence and its lasting effects for the next generation of LA youth.