Violence Prevention Breakfast

How do we eliminate violence in our communities? Yesterday I attended an event that sought to answer that question with scientifically-tested strategies. I met with community leaders, health professionals, educators, and faith-based organizers to talk about youth and gang violence at the Metropolitan Atlanta Violence Prevention Partnership's 2nd annual breakfast. The event, held at Adamsville Recreation Center in Atlanta, was created to join six metro-Atlanta counties in a regional campaign to prevent violence. I was extremely taken back by the data findings of victims of violence (homicides and suicides) in our area. The key metropolitan counties are Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, and Gwinnett. After watching presentations by doctors and specialists from the Center of Disease Control (CDC), Emory University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine, I realized that not only are there many under-served communities, but that the difference between homicides in the black community and other communities are very wide . I was most touched by a mother who lost her 21 year-old son to violence only 2 weeks ago. She talked very openly about her tragedy and the senseless nature of it. She was in deep pain. The event consisted of lots of statistical data, but this woman was able to put a face and a real life story to all of the information. My prayers go out to her and many other families who are dealing with violence.
I left the event even more motivated to push my self-esteem initiative. I believe that a lot of the violence among youth is caused by low self-esteem. The old African proverb that "it takes a village to raise a child," definitely held true for this event. We have to put together all of our resources to save our children. After the breakfast, I networked with community activists and educators. I look forward to working with them for my upcoming event for girls in March. This event sparked conversation, and will initiate change.