Seek
February 2017
voices from the
One Life at a Time
Preventing Gun Violence and Caring for its Survivors By the Rev. Marc D. Smith, Ph.D., Bishop’s Deputy for Gun Violence Prevention and Priest Associate, Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, University City Despite innovative policing strategies and the increasing engagement of the community in violence prevention, the number of homicides in St. Louis City (overwhelmingly from guns) increased from 120 in 2013 to 188 in 2015 (+63.8%). The homicide rate per 100,000 population is more than eight times the national average (37.7 compared to 4.5). And, the majority were the result of young black male-on-youngblack-male shootings. Tragically, a notable number of victims were innocent bystanders or mistaken targets—the “collateral damage” of a community in which lethal aggression has become an acceptable instrument for conflict resolution. Nationally, as well as locally, the response to the grow-
ing epidemic of gun violence has varied. Some efforts have focused on legislative changes to restrict access to guns. Others have attempted to address underlying structural causes, including poverty, family disintegration and institutional racism. Although these initiatives likely will be part of a comprehensive solution, their ability to effect immediate relief is limited. Recently, however, the academic, activist, and faith communities also have begun to examine the gun violence that pervades our urban centers as a public health crisis and have noted that there are strategies that can be deployed immediately to combat it. In St. Louis, for example, collaboration between the Department of Psychiatry at
Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
Washington University School of Medicine (WUMS) and the Pastoral Care Department of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in structured interventions with the hospitalized victims of violence demonstrated significant opportunities to assist them in redirecting their lives. Currently, at least 36 public and private organizations, including the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, are engaged in gun violence prevention in the St. Louis metropolitan area. In 2016, the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Washington University’s Institute for Public Health convened regular meetings of these entities—together known as the St. Louis Gun Violence Prevention Collaborative (STLGVPC)—to begin to develop a more coordinated response to the gun violence crisis. Following a year of information sharing, planning and initial program
coordination, STLGVPC requested the diocese’s assistance in securing funding through the Episcopal Presbyterian Health Trust (EPHT). Specifically, to retain a consultant to facilitate the development and implementation of a governance model for the Collaborative. The goal is to enhance accountability of the individual organizations to each other and, collectively, to the community. The grant was awarded by EPHT in December 2016, and Requests for Proposals were circulated nationally in early January 2017. The Collaborative anticipates hiring the consultant by the end of February and receiving final recommendations for the governance model
continued page 10 ph: 314-231-1220 www.DioceseMo.org Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St. St. Louis, Missouri 63103
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