Roundtable Addresses Gun Violence
Congressman Derek Kilmer met with members of Tacoma Cease Fire on April 21 for a roundtable to discuss the state of gun violence in the city and what needs there are to address it and help the families impacted by trauma.
Gathering at People’s Center with Kilmer were Tacoma Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker; James Watson of Tacoma Cease Fire and the Trauma Response Team; Tacoma Cease Fire co-founder and community advocate Candace Wesley; and Xavier Vaughan with the Trauma Response Team and Credible Messengers. Watson works with Credible Messengers as well, which makes connections with young people to help steer them away from violence and prisons, or death, to unleash their leadership qualities, well-being and a fulfilling life.
"I’ve been on this job for a little over 10 years and I wish I could tell you how many moments of silence we’ve had after mass shootings in this country, but I lost count at some point,” Kilmer said. "I say that not just as a Representative; I say that as a dad. I dropped my kid off at school this morning and when I do that, I want them to be excited about the day, not afraid for their safety.”
In his role in Congress, Kilmer said that among all the issues he deals with, "I’m struck that perhaps more than any other issue I hear about is mental health. This was a problem pre-pandemic and it’s really been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
Watson, who was born and raised in Hilltop and has been working with youth for more than 30 years, said he is seeing signs of mental health issues in children as young as 3 years old. So many have grown to be desensitized to the violence around them, whether in the home or on the streets, such that they see it as part of their everyday lives.
"Right now, we are dealing with children that are going through violence and trauma in their homes and they’re not affected by it which scares me,” Watson said. "It’s just something that’s happening.”
For Wesley, this raises a red flag that when a family member is impacted by violence or trauma, either as victim or perpetrator, the whole family needs to be embraced and she wants to see more resources being allocated for this holistic perspective.
"Ultimately, I think our problem is our approach to mental health,” she said. "A lot of monies have been afforded, thankfully, for the youth and young adult population, but the way it was allocated, you had to serve the individual. What I would like to see more of is when the money is disbursed that it can be okay to service the entire family.”
She used a theoretical example to explain her point. "You can serve Bobby but if Bobby’s brother is too old for this program or because he wasn’t included at intake, we have restrictions as it relates to services that we can provide to Bobby,” she said.
Wesley provided another example of what needs to be fixed through an approach that doesn’t just provide plenty of resources for youth but for whole families. "We are servicing the children, getting them through school and getting them graduated and getting them internships, but mom is bipolar so they’re functioning at high capacity in the community but then they go home and have to revisit what they’re trying to be delivered from. It’s a cycle.”
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Community advocates Xavier Vaughan, James Watson and Candace Wesley gave insight into Tacoma’s gun violence.
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Kilmer said there has been some movement at the federal level including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that he supported and that President Biden signed into law last year. This was the first gun violence legislation that Congress has passed in more than 30 years. Among its provisions is to provide ample resources into mental health and to school based mental health.
Additionally, the law provides states like Washington with funding for extreme risk protection order programs, drug courts, and other crisis intervention programs, including more than $1.36 million for Washington state to address mental health emergency preparedness and crisis response efforts; nearly $3.6 million for the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to help develop and support school-based mental health programs and services; more than $5 million for the Washington State Department of Commerce to implement the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program; and more than $630,000 to help increase the number of qualified, well-trained mental health professionals working in Tacoma Public Schools.
Locally this week, Washington became the 10th state to ban assault weapons when Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1240 on April 25. The legislation prohibits the sale, manufacture, and import of assault weapons in Washington state while allowing reasonable exemptions for manufacture and sale to law enforcement and the military. The legislation does not prohibit the possession of assault weapons.
Inslee also signed two other weapons related bills. One requires safety training and a 10-day waiting period before purchasing a firearm, and the other bill strengthens accountability of firearm manufacturers and retailers.
Tacoma Cease Fire was formed in 2019 as a grassroots initiative to protect Tacoma’s youth, community, and streets, and recently got a boost when the City of Tacoma announced a partnership with Cease Fire to implement a community trauma response team (CTRT).
Through this partnership, the CTRT will respond to crisis after a traumatic incident to assist the community in healing, and to provide a safe place for the community to express their opinions and concerns; support and give referrals designed to offer immediate, compassionate and practical resources for community members impacted by trauma and serious loss; and focus on the community’s emotional needs while the Tacoma police and fire departments focus on the incident response.
The team will consist of 15 to 20 culturally relevant community advocates who sign up for a weekly call time. Community volunteers will complete an initial crisis response training that will be identified by the respondent program, successfully complete a background check, and participate in ongoing monthly supervision and training.
Source: Tacoma Weekly