Special to the Patriot-Bridge
We are Charlestown teens. We write this column with concern for youth, teens, and our community’s future. This past year we have participated in the Photovoice Project at NEW Health, a project that is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Problem Gambling Services. This project seeks to empower youth voice through the art of photography and educate youth and their communities on the impacts of problem gambling.
This past year we have engaged in the critical work of building community by engaging in discussions about the things that impact our lives, both the good and the bad. Positive influences in our lives include family, friends, our schools, sports, and our cultures. Challenges that Charlestown, Greater Boston, and all of the U.S. face that impacts our lives include systemic racism, gentrification, food insecurity, homelessness, and gun violence. For the Photovoice Project we were tasked with identifying an issue that our community faces that we wanted to speak on.
We have collectively chosen to address gun violence. Together we have come up with the tagline “Drop a Gun, Save a Life” to reflect how gun violence has affected us in our personal lives and our communities. Gun violence impacts everyone. We are teens ranging in age from 12-17. As students, we have witnessed multiple U.S. school shootings in our lifetime through the news and social media. As of 2017, the number one cause of death among children, adolescents, and young adults results from fire-arm related injuries. Since the 1999 Columbine school shooting, over 370,000 U.S. students have experienced gun violence in school. Furthermore, it is estimated that 4.6 million kids in the U.S. live in a home with at least one gun that is loaded and unlocked. In Charlestown, gun violence threatened and disrupted Charlestown High School graduation just 2 years ago.
The majority of us in this cohort have already witnessed at least one incidence of gun violence in our life, if not multiple incidences. Given these shocking statistics and events in our own community and communities around us, we feel unsafe for ourselves and for the safety of others.
We hope to raise awareness of the dangers that come with gun violence and how they are harmful to youth and our communities. In an effort to increase awareness on gun violence safety, prevention, and resources we’ve created a QR code that includes gun violence resources in English and Spanish.
Flyers with these barcodes will be posted around Charlestown at the following locations: Charlestown Public Library, Charlestown High School, Charlestown YMCA, Bunker Hill Housing Office, Turn It Around, the Charlestown Boys and Girls.
We hope you utilize these resources provided and have an increased awareness on the dangers of gun violence.