Numbers and statistics do not tell the whole story of what continual gun violence does to families and the community as a whole. Too many dreams have been permanently deferred due to gun violence. Hopes are being crushed by gun violence. Living with persistent gun violence is the equivalent of living in a war zone. Gun violence causes trauma to our bodies and minds. Those we lose to gun violence are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, loved ones…. This is why we need to have conversations about Trauma. On October 30th,we held the, It’s a T.R.I.P. (Trauma Reduced Informed Practices) virtual event from 6-8pm. The T.R.I.P. Event was hosted by artist and Co-Director of Speak It Forward, Ed Genesis. The keynote speaker was a board-certified Psychiatrist who is the creator and founder of Ask Dr. Jess, Dr. Jess Clemons. Panelists included Community Leaders, Don Hemphill, Commissioner Tami Rey, Dr. Sandra Medinilla, Rick Omilian, Pastor Estevan Juarez and Ebony Hemphill. This was an awesome virtual discussion on the trauma surrounding gun violence and the contributing factors to this epidemic that has hit our community. View this October 30th Virtual Event – It’s a T.R.I.P. (Trauma Reducing, Informed Practices)

ISAAC held our 2020 Public Meeting on October 22nd and had a number of Asks of Community Law Enforcement Leads, Candidates and our Prosecutor. We believe what we asked will strengthen mutual trust, build our capacity to communicate openly and effectively and allow the community to work more collaboratively with law enforcement and others for the safety, health and welfare of all.

A special thank you to our local Law Enforcement, Attorneys and Officials, Township Manager Dexter Mitchell, County Sheriff Rick Fuller, and County Prosecutor Jeff Getting for viewing the It’s a TRIP recording focusing on Gun Violence and Trauma and debriefing with GVPTF Team Members. We understand that getting to the root causes of community violence is key in our work.