Philly youth are often not included in the conversation of gun violence, and in recent years, they have increasingly been the victims and perpetrators in the city’s crisis.

Of the record-setting 562 homicides and 2,332 shooting victims last year in Philadelphia, 213 of those homicides were children under 18. 

In November 2021, AL DÍA released Episode 2 of What Our City Needs, and spoke to multiple leaders across the city with expert knowledge on the relationship between youth’s involvement in gun violence and their mental health. 

For the third episode of the series, the youth themselves are the ones AL DÍA sought out to tell all, and has spent the last six months gathering their stories.

Today, AL DÍA shares the stories of eight youth between the ages of 17 and 18 from IDAAY, Beloved Care Project, and Esperanza Academy Charter School, who spoke about all the aspects of growing up amid Philly’s gun violence crisis. 

These are their causes, effects, and most importantly, solutions to what is a gun violence crisis that is only getting worse in 2022.