My experience working with young kids who were highly susceptible to homicide is that the stigma around violent offenders makes many programs who make contact with them very nervous about actually approaching the issue for fear of blowback around serving violent offenders. https://twitter.com/abgutman/status/1362218729061416960

We'll give them drug treatment they don't need, some hollow career resource that never lands a real job, try to get them back into school regardless of whether they want that but never talk about the fact that they are living in danger of murder 24/7 as if that isn't the issue.

When you go to programs directors and saying, "Kids are dying in this program left and right and we need to get in front of this issue before we lose more" you'll be told to make a referral but there isn't anywhere to refer.

YVRP is through the DA's office only. Ceasefire is through the police districts. And when you suggest that violence prevention needs to be a core service you're told, "we serve *nonviolent* offenders." As if that somehow changes the size of the body stack.

I no shit said fuck it, watched the Interrupters and read up on Cure Violence and went and tried to do the shit myself. And it worked! I had at least one kid not retaliate after getting shot because I got to him before he could come back on the dude who shot him.

But this shit is classic Philly, man. Glossy programs full of people who don't know what the fuck they're doing other than shuffling papers and taking meetings while bodies pile up and they have no answers other than hope the problem goes away.

Overdoses and homicides. The numbers speak for themselves. A whole lot of know nothing motherfuckers with all the money and political juice stepping on the necks of people who could actually fix shit because that would make them look bad.