'America loves guns more than they love our young people' - mother of slain Chicago teen

Record ID: 1675294

  • Title: 'America loves guns more than they love our young people' - mother of slain Chicago teen
  • Date: 2nd June 2022
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAM BOSLEY, MOTHER OF MURDERED CHICAGO TEEN AND MEMBER OF PURPOSE OVER PAIN, SAYING “We do events for parents, you know, to bring them out and do a different type of pop-up events. We do basketball tournaments for young men. So, we try to mentor them, so, we do several things. Sometimes it seems like it’s working and sometimes it seems like it's not. And right now, I’m feeling a little hopeless.” CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (MAY 24, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIO HARDIMAN, ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER OF THE VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS SAYING: “The spirit of revenge is at an all-time high. A lot of the killings in Chicago are based on revenge killings. A lot of these guys, they cannot let go of what happened to their comrades. So, what they do, they go out and exact revenge on anybody. Right now, anything and everything goes in Chicago.” VARIOUS OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIO HARDIMAN, ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER OF THE VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS, SAYING: “There’s no real economy taking place in the communities like the south and west side where young people can become employed where they can take care of their families at a young age. It’s hard, it’s rough, and a lot of young guys take to the streets to try to make ends meet. You’ve got a whole strip of abandoned properties right here. Entire strip here, okay? That’s about seven or eight abandoned properties right there, storefronts.” VARIOUS OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIO HARDIMAN, ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER OF THE VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS SAYING: “The main mission is to go out and seek out conflicts in some of these target areas where you have a lot of gun violence. Once the Violence Interrupters identify individuals that are involved in the conflict, our main mission is to diffuse the situation or deescalate the situation where nobody is shot or killed or harmed in any kind of way.” VARIOUS OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIO HARDIMAN, ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER OF THE VIOLENCE INTERRUPTERS SAYING: “When everybody talks about programs to reduce gun violence, which is a good thing, but the moral of the story is after you train everybody, after you receive your funds for violence prevention, after you go through all the different processes, what it all comes down to is a personal relationship with the young guys in the community. The trainings are very helpful, don’t get me wrong, but what it all really boils down to is do you know that guy who wants to kill that other guy. And if you know him, how well do you know him to talk him down from killing the guy.” VARIOUS OF SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2022 15:14
  • Keywords: AMERICA CHICAGO CONTROL FIREARMS GUN GUNS LAWS MASS MURDER SHOOTING SHOOTINGS VIOLENCE
  • Location: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES
  • City: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA005214501062022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As debates over how to address America's gun violence issue continue nationwide, activists in Chicago are hard at work, trying to inch towards creating safer streets in their own communities.
    “We do events for parents, you know, to bring them out and do different types of pop-up events," said Pam Bosley, a member of Purpose Over Pain, a not-for-profit made up of families that have lost children to gun violence. "We do basketball tournaments for young men, we try to mentor them, we do several things. Sometimes, it seems like it’s working and sometimes, it seems like it's not."
    Chicago just witnessed its most deadly Memorial Day weekend in 5 years, with over 50 people shot and 9 killed.
    Bosley believes those numbers might suggest another violence-filled summer for the city.
    "Right now, I’m feeling a little hopeless," said Bosley.
    The mother of 3 knows all too well what it's like to have to bury a child because of gun violence and the anguish it leaves behind.
    “My son, Terrell, at the age of 18 was shot and killed in 2006 on the grounds of a church, and that first year, I tried to take my life twice," said Bosley. “I'm left here without him for no reason. No apparent reason, but gun violence that seems to be still a major issue in America, because America loves guns more than they love our young people.”
    Other anti-violence activists point to a dearth of resources in minority communities as a primary cause for the gun crimes in Chicago.
    “There’s no real economy taking place in the communities like the South and West side, where young people can become employed, where they can take care of their families at a young age," said Tio Hardiman, founder of the Violence Interrupters, a group that works to mediate conflicts using their reputations and connections in the community to communicate with street organizations. "It’s hard, it’s rough, a lot of young guys take to the streets to try to make ends meet."
    Hardiman says the Violence Interrupters model has been mirrored in dozens of other cities and even overseas, including initiatives in England and South Africa.
    “What it all comes down to is a personal relationship with the young guys in the community," said Hardiman. "The trainings are very helpful, don’t get me wrong, but what it all really boils down to is 'do you know that guy who wants to kill that other guy? And if you know him, how well do you know him, to talk him down from killing the guy?'"
    (Production: Eric Cox)
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