The trauma of gun violence lasts long after the smoke from a gun clears. Families are torn apart. Neighbors lose their sense of security. Communities grow frustrated in their search for answers, as they try to regain a sense of normalcy. This Gun Violence Survivor’s Week, we’re uplifting the voices and stories of those affected by gun violence.

Survivors can be both those who suffered from the gunshot wounds directly, as well as their family and loved ones who end up carrying the trauma too. 

Many survivors become motivated to take action and prevent anyone else from experiencing the same pain they’ve felt. After his son William was shot and killed, Stanley Crawford formed the Black Male Community Council of Philadelphia to help strengthen neighborhoods and quell tensions that often lead to violence. His program is one of many grassroots anti-violence organizations that receive funding from the City’s Targeted Community Investment Grant program. 

“It gives us an opportunity to engage with the younger brothers that’re mostly participating in the violence.” – Stanley Crawford

There are too many stories like his, but it is important that we share them.

For this third annual National Gun Violence Survivors Week, we want to amplify more voices of residents who live with the impact of gun violence every single day. Moments That Survive is a centerpiece of this movement.

If you are a survivor of violence, please consider sharing your story. Help all of us remember those who tragically can no longer speak for themselves. 

You can share your stories on social media with the hashtag, #GVSurvivorsWeek or email the Office of Violence Prevention at OVPinfo@phila.gov.

Please know, we are committed to furthering our work of violence reduction through our Community Crisis Intervention Program, Group Violence Intervention strategy, our Targeted Community Investment Grants, and other programs.