Solutions | #GunCrisis: Philadelphia

A new documentary calls youth violence in New Orleans “the city’s greatest neglected crisis” and seeks “positive solutions to an extremely negative situation.”

According to shellshockeddoc.com:

New Orleans, Louisiana is the murder capital of the United States. For the last decade, statistics have shown murder rates four to six times higher than the national average. Eighty percent of the victims are black males, mostly in their teenage years. This is the city’s greatest neglected crisis with profound implications for the issues of violence and crime most American cities face.

Shell Shocked attempts to bridge the gap of this disconnect by hearing the ideas, opinions, and testimonies from activists, community leaders, police, city officials, youth program directors, family and friends of victims, and the children who live in these violent circumstances. We are looking for positive solutions to an extremely negative situation.

The producers explain how the project developed on their companion Facebook page:

The filmmakers selected five New Orleans teenagers to take part in a documentary class. The teens spent 15 months creating short documentaries about their lives. During that time they were taught how to develop story ideas, light, shoot, and edit the interviews that they conducted. The teens also gave poignant interviews to the filmmakers that give a candid look into the life and environment in which they live.

According to nola.com, 15 screenings of the film were shown at high schools all throughout New Orleans last month and the documentary has been selected for screening on May 16th at His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Resilience conference in New Orleans. Two free, public screenings are scheduled in New Orleans this month.

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Cost of Violence National Conference on Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health

Promising to introduce a new model for addressing the cost of violence and bridging the gap between community advocates and experts in the field of behavioral health, Philadelphia’s Mothers in Charge is celebrating 10 years of violence prevention, education and intervention by hosting The Cost of Violence: National Conference on Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health Monday and Tuesday, May 6th and 7th, at the Sheraton Hotel at 201 North 17th Street in Center City.

According to organizers, the conference “will provide a results-driven environment that empowers and educates attendees,” with a lineup of “impassioned speakers, impactful and thought provoking panel discussions, and important skill-sharing workshops.”

The conference will provide tangible capacity building strategies to leaders of the anti-violence movement through networking, organizing, and information sharing, according to the event website at costofviolence.mothersincharge.org.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum is among speakers scheduled to present. Other workshops and forums include ”Compassion Fatigue: Taking Care of Yourself while Helping Victims of Trauma” and “Effective Voices for Previously Incarcerated Fathers.”

On Tuesday evening, May 7th, you can join Mothers In Charge in celebrating a decade of service at their 10th Anniversary Commencement of Peace.

Register for the conference, the gala, or both at costofviolence.mothersincharge.org.

Learn more about the events, the organization and the founder at mothersincharge.org.

Mothers in Charge founder Dorothy Johnson-Speight, right, embraces Wayne Walker, mother of murdered Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker, Jr., last summer in North Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek photographed the memorial peace walk for the Gun Crisis Reporting Project.

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