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Abstract
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Preventing youth violence requires addressing all levels of the social ecology, including creation of the community and societal conditions that foster safe, stable, nurturing environments in which all youths can thrive.
Public health at its best is the collective effort of a society to create the conditions in which all people can be healthy. Violence in any form inhibits the conditions needed for health. It is destructive to individuals, families, and communities, and it is inconsistent with the belief that "I am my brother's or sister's keeper"--a lesson I learned from Martin Luther King Jr. and President Benjamin E. Mays during my time as a student at Morehouse College.
To the extent that we can prevent violence, including youth violence, we will all benefit--most especially our youths. Youths are not responsible for their environments, yet they can be doomed to inhabit them. During my tenure as US Surgeon General, in the first report on youth violence in the United States, I noted the consensus in communities that youth violence is our nation's problem. I also explained how "violence stems from a complex interaction of individuals with their environment[s]" (https://bit.ly/3dTlcVN). Systemic social and economic inequities that hinder opportunities for young people to learn, work, play, and pray peacefully can result in violence as the perceived only choice for communication and sometimes even for survival. Peaceful coexistence is important, beginning in families and communities. Beyond learning the importance of living together, however, we must address the social and structural determinants that increase the risk for experiencing violence.
In 2014, I spoke at the commemoration of 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four little Black girls in 1964. I was impressed with the courage of those gathered there and the extent to which they overwhelmingly served in caring roles (in medicine, law, social work). We need these different sectors and caring professionals to continue to come together and to be courageous in addressing the underlying conditions that influence youth violence in communities.
When I joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee movement more than 50 years ago, we acted out of courage and caring. Even when committed to jail and prison...
Language: en |