What does it take to have a safe summer?
That’s what hundreds of people hoped to learn as they gathered inside the University of the District of Columbia’s theater. They were violence interrupters, community ambassadors and others who work together with D.C. government agencies. They were there to learn more about how their programs connect with each other.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city’s police Chief Pamela Smith also attended the event.
Bowser told the audience Wednesday that while it’s good the city’s crime rate is down this year by 28%, “What’s not good is that 85 people have died.”
The mayor noted the various services and opportunities for paid internships available to young people. But those opportunities are wasted if those who can use them are gone.
“They can’t take advantage of them if they’re not alive,” the mayor said. Nor can they benefit from them if “their hearts turn so cold that they don’t see tomorrow,” Bowser added.
The mayor told the audience she wanted a safe community for her own child.
“I don’t want my daughter to go to school and be in a hail of gunfire. Do you want that for your child?” she asked the crowd.
Bowser said one of the takeaways from the training should be knowing where to turn to for help and when to sound the alarm.
“If and when we do that together, we’re going to have a safe summer,” Bowser said. “We’re going to drive down crime so that no matter where you live in Washington, D.C., you’re proud, you’re safe and you see a future for your kids.”
Together We Rise D.C. founder Dwayne Falwell is a violence interrupter who works in the city’s Wards 6 and 7. He works closely with the men in his community, finding programs that match their needs.
“Whatever we can do to get these guys to put the guns down and to get something productive going in their life,” Falwell said.
Falwell said it often comes down to helping people deal with everything from trauma as a result of violence to fulfilling basic needs.
“Some of them might need treatment. Some of them might need to see a mental health therapist. Some of them might need food,” Falwell said.
The training underscored a new approach by the District to get groups — such as Cure the Streets, The Alliance of Concerned Men and Together We Rise — working toward the same goals “out of their silos,” Falwell said.
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