Rep. McClinton Sponsors an Event at Myers Rec. Center on September 18th.
Next Saturday, September 18th, 10am-2pm, local community agencies and organizations will host “Save A Life – Turn In a Gun” at The Common Place, 58th Street and Chester Avenue. The event will take place in the parking area behind The Common Place accessible from 58th Street, half a block down from 58th.
No questions will be asked at the turn in, and individuals will be able to turn in handguns or semi- automatic firearms in exchange for an $100 gift card to Brown’s ShopRite Supermarket for each weapon turned in.
The objective is one step that residents can take to reduce gun violence in the Southwest which has become a scourge throughout the city and in communities around the country.
As of September 9, there have been 315 fatal shootings in the city plus another 1274 non-fatal victims of gun violence according to the city controller’s office (https://controller.phila.gov /mapping gun violence.) Almost 9 of 10 of the shootings have involved young black men, half of them between the ages of 18 and 30.
Except, strangely, for Covid-19, Black people have much higher rates of other lethal conditions like hypertension, obesity, diabetes and strokes than do white people, and they develop those chronic conditions up to 10 years earlier.* Like these other health discrepancies, the gun violence casualties are related to the stressful conditions caused by growing up in segregated, underserved urban neighborhoods.
Another gun buyback will take place at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge- 4301 North Broad Street| Phila, PA 19104, at the same time and date as The Common Place. Among the sponsors of the buybacks are the Philadelphia City Council and the Philadelphia Police Department. More information can be obtained by calling 215-667-9870.
The Common Place is a center for the nurture of children and families in Southwest. For information on its programs, visit www.thecommonplacephilly.com or phone 215-275-8238
(Information for this article was provided by Hope Foy, District Office Director for Rep McClinton).
* www.propublica.org/article/how-covid-19-hollowed-out-a-generation-of-young-black-men
