Guns Down, Life Up

By Madeline White | Categories: | Comments Off on Guns Down, Life Up

Gun violence is a serious public health crisis in New York City. Not only are thousands of lives lost to gun violence every year, but it is also the leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 13-24 in NYC. To address this issue, NYC Health + Hospitals implemented Guns Down, Life Up (GDLU). The goal of GDLU is to reduce violent injuries among young people, ages 11-18, so they never end up as trauma patients in hospital facilities. To achieve this, the program has three main components.

• Prevention: engaging youth early in long-term mentorship and developmental activities to divert them from involvement with violent peer groups and behaviors.
• Community Mobilization: engaging with concerned organizations and neighborhood residents to build community strategies to reduce neighborhood violence.
• Intervention: immediately engaging with people who have been violently injured to prevent retaliation and provide counsel and support.

NYC H+H works with many partners on GDLU, including local schools, Cure Violence programs across the city, the Bronx Documentary Center, and other local vendors and community-based organizations to share resources and activities.