According to the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on the 25th, 17-year-old Joshua Corneilius should enjoy the last year of high school, but he has been worried about the violence that occurs inside and outside the campus of the North Philadelphia school where he attended.
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Nine students were shot and killed at Simon Gratz High School last year, and the school's principal, Leonardo Dunn, told ABC that three of those deaths occurred last month.
Joshua said: "This is a war zone, like drugs, guns and violence, a real war zone. It's a real dog-bite-dog world, as if it's not for anyone who is soft. If you live in Philadelphia, you're naturally going to get tough... You'll have armor, you'll have shields. ”
More than 10,000 people have been shot and killed in Philadelphia since 2015, three-quarters of them black men. According to city data, more than 80 percent of homicide victims in Philadelphia last year were black men. Meanwhile, according to news site Action News, black boys also make up 96 percent of child murder victims in the city, and most murders occur in northern Philadelphia.
Screenshot of the report
Kalia, a 17-year-old high school senior, said: "That's how it happens, so even if you really sit down and try to digest it, there's no time to do it." You still need to think, 'What can I do to make sure I don't get stuck in that situation?' Or 'What can I do to determine my future and my life so that I can leave the city?' ’”
Violence continues in cities and schools, and students, in the midst of tension and worry, rarely really focus on what they should be thinking about: classes, graduations, and college.
A psychotherapist born and raised in Philadelphia, Akia, who holds a master's degree in mental health in early July, launched the Revenge Therapy program, which offers free treatment to people who have experienced or been affected by gun violence. Speaking of her student patients, Akia said: "They're a little scared to go to school and afraid to even go out. If they're not afraid, or pretend not to be afraid, they'll go out, but they'll be armed and ready for war. ”
Black children and teens made up just 14 percent of all children and teens in Philadelphia in 2019, but they accounted for 43 percent of gun-related deaths, and they were four times more likely to be shot than white peers. So far this year, 41 victims under the age of 18 have died from gun violence in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Government Office.
(Editor: WDQ)