Violence is down, hope is up!
- BuildaBridge Int'l
- 4 days ago
- 1 min read
Don't delay, give today.
Gun violence is down. Hope is up! YOU. HELPED. MAKE. THIS. HAPPEN.
I just attended a memorial service event for the victims of Sandy Hook. 13 years ago, children and their teachers were gunned down and murdered in a senseless and depraved act. It still hurts and continues to hurt when gun violence claims more lives. It's a stark reminder of how much we still haven't done to prevent deaths from gun violence.
The State of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia and organizations like BuildaBridge have been pooling resources to create safe, healing, and hope-raising spaces. Gun violence is down. It's working.
We've spent all year at the Lonnie Young Recreation Center, spent the winter and spring in West Philadelphia, and our summer continued our work at Lonnie Young Recreation Center as well as the Winchester and Penrose recreation centers that border Temple University in East North Philadelphia.
Homicides are down 15% and violent crimes are down nearly 10%.
We know that when BuildaBridge engages with youth, we see improvements in resilience (10%), self-efficacy (10%) and hopefulness (11%) - all power tools to mitigate trauma, face adversity, and shape a hope-infused future.
More time with youth, means more opportunities to heal and hope-raise.
There's still a long road ahead of us. Will you join us?
Stay tuned for some more updates, wishing you only the best.
Ami Yares, executive director;
the BuildaBridge Board of Directors
& BuildaBridge Teaching Artists
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