I’ve been impacted by gun violence in a lot of ways. My father was incarcerated with me—he was a perpetrator of gun violence. I’ve lost cousins, brothers—it was all around me. There was so much everyday trauma of gun violence.
Now, I am an outreach worker in Englewood for READI Chicago, and I love my job. I teach my community about gun violence and the effect it has on us. I help educate our guys and help them see a more productive future for themselves. I help connect them to education programs so they don’t have to turn to violence to survive.
I want people to know that gun violence is an epidemic here in Englewood. It is the most dangerous and destructive thing to our communities, and it needs to be number one on our list to address. That said, people should focus more on the positive about our community—there is more here than just gun violence. I see people helping each other through this every single day.
