After a recent string of "wrong address" shootings leaving young people injured and killed, America is grappling with a difficult reality — gun violence is now the number one killer of children and teens. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3,597 children died by gunfire in 2021. That death rate was the highest it has been in more than 20 years.
As state and local governments across the nation work toward solutions to end the endemic plaguing their communities, the city of Cincinnati released its plan to combat gun violence in the spring with ideas and solutions from those directly impacted — Cincinnati's youth.
The anniversary of the 2021 Cincinnati Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Report approaches this summer, and members of the Avondale Community Council, Avondale Youth Council and city leaders meet to discuss how the plan was developed and how it served as one of the inspirations for the city of Cincinnati to declare gun violence as a public health threat.
Guests:
- Bishop Ennis Tait, New Beginnings Church of the Living God in Avondale, president, Faith and Community Alliance
- Ceair Baggett, principal, Taft High School
- Ailen Arreaza, executive director, ParentsTogether
- Meeka Owens, Cincinnati City council member
- Jennifer Foster, health champion, The Community Builders, board member, Avondale Community Council
- DeNesha Bell, coordinator, Avondale Youth Council
Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.
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