Gun violence prevention advocates, community members gather for Bridging Blocks event

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Gun violence prevention advocates, leaders and community members gathered for WHYY News’s Community Engagement team’s first annual public safety and belonging cookout at the Pomelo flower shop in Germantown on Saturday.

Participants shared personal stories and information about their gun violence prevention work while connecting with one another over food from Eatable Delights.

Candace Wright, of Shoot Basketballs Not People, a Philadelphia organization that runs a youth basketball program and teaches violence prevention to young people, said she was there to network and collaborate.

“I feel like there’s so many different organizations out here that support the mission of having an impact on the violence in our community,” she said. “But I feel like a lot of the organizations are doing their own work, on their own, and not necessarily collaborating with other organizations.”

There has been a 37% decrease in homicides compared to 2023, and a nearly 40% decrease in shootings compared to this same time last year, according to city statistics.

But Jamal Johnson of Stop Killing Us said that’s not enough. Gun violence prevention needs to still be a “priority” for elected officials and leaders. The fact that nearly 700 people have been shot so far this year in Philadelphia is evidence that the crisis continues, Johnson said.

“I think that people, if they come on the street, or if they’re involved in the street, they would agree with me that we still have a lot of shooting and killing,” he said. “So we still have a high level of gun violence. But the fact that it’s not being spoken of … causes, I think, people to believe that things have gotten a whole lot better, when, in reality, I don’t think they have.”

Johnson is working with Philly Truce to run Operation Hug the Block, which invites community members to patrol certain neighborhoods on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m., for the next three months.

“We’re going around to be a visible deterrent in these communities, because we believe that a visible deterrent is needed on the streets,” Johnson said.

Debra O’Connor, of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said that meeting and sharing with other leaders and community members working in gun violence prevention is key to making long-term change.

“First and foremost, we need to get feedback from different organizations, from different people,” O’Connor said. “Everybody has different perspectives, and like any big push or organization, a lot of times we’re in silos, and we don’t really know what the other person is doing. So unless we come together at times like this, we’ll never know.

O’Connor said the chapter is currently focusing on promoting safe storage of guns through the Be SMART Foundation.

Eric Marsh Sr., manager of community engagement at WHYY News, said in addition to fostering connections, the event’s goal is also to celebrate the work community members are doing to address gun violence.

“We want to thank all of you for the work that you do as individuals as well as the work you do as part of organizations,” he said.

Saturday’s event was part of Bridging Blocks, a civic engagement initiative between WHYY and The Free Library of Philadelphia that aims to bring together culturally and politically diverse households for conversation and understanding.

The next Bridging Blocks event will be held Tuesday, Aug. 20 at the Central Library, and will focus on the topic of immigration.