Boston needs to address root causes of violence, says city's new community safety adviser

After the murder of 13-year-old Tyler Lawrence of Norwood near his grandparents’ house in Mattapan, Bostonians have been grappling with how to deal with violence. Isaac Yablo, Boston’s new senior adviser on community safety, joined GBH’s Moring Edition co-host Paris Alston to discuss the state of violence in Boston right now and how he's working with the mayor to address it. This transcript has been lightly edited.

Isaac Yablo: We are at a place where we have a mayor that is not only willing, but is adequately and consistently investing in the eradication of the root causes that lead to this violence. So I think where we're at in terms of certain aspects of reality, we're in a very good spot.

Paris Alston: It's clear that the solutions are not as simple as things like sending law enforcement in or trying to address it in school. So tell me a little bit more about how we really get at those core issues.

Yablo: I'd argue that the solutions that we've taken to eradicating this violence have been kind of desensitized and that there are solutions rooted in the idea that violence will always happen, right. So rather than trying to eradicate the violence, let's put a Band-Aid on the violence when we know that surgery is needed, but we're just going to put a Band-Aid. It'll stop the bleeding for a day. Then the next day, we need a new Band-Aid. So the surgery is that investment in the community to eradicate this machine that's pumping out people. And then we can start bandaging up after the surgery has been done, if that makes sense. Because right now we're just putting a bunch of things on top of it, but we're not stopping the bleeding.

Alston: So you're saying addressing those root causes rather than just saying, oh, we're going to treat the symptoms.

Yablo: Right. A Band-Aid doesn't stop the bleeding, but it protects the bleeding from the outside world. And that's what we have to do. These nonprofits, it's on them to be the Band-Aids, which is what they've been doing. But it's on the city now to do the surgery.

Alston: I was telling you that I had a conversation with Troy Smith, who is the director at the Perkins Community Center under the Boston Centers for Youth and Families. I know you yourself are a BCYF alum. And we were talking about a specific incident that happened to Troy in which he became a victim of violence himself. And I want to play a little clip of what he said to me about attitudes toward the city's approach to violence and what he'd like to see done.

[Previously recorded]

Troy Smith: We need to be actively engaged, boots on the ground, knowing, hearing from true individuals who have been victims of violence, who are trying to save their children. We've become desensitized to the ills that plague our neighborhoods in our society. Violence in our community is not the norm and it should never be accepted as part of our day to day living.

[Recording ends]

Alston: So hearing that, Isaac, what's your response?

Yablo: Yeah, I would say to his point about being desensitized, I think what's happened is we are dealing with a population of young people specifically that are completely desensitized to this violence. I think what's happened is that violence has become accepted as a part of the fabric of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. If you live there, expect to experience certain types of violence. Not only is that problematic, it's just not a reflection of the entire neighborhood broadly.

Boots on the ground, yeah, we need boots on the ground because we need to physically meet people where they're at. I can't sit in the mayor's office and build a plan for people without actually talking to the people that are on the ground experiencing, or that will experience whatever plan I'm coming up with. What hasn't been done in the past is this wraparound approach of saying, maybe we should help the parents, too. Because maybe if we help the parents, then the young person might have an easier time or whatever it is.

Alston: What you're saying brings up for me a quote from Tyler Lawrence's mother, which was in a story in the Boston Globe written by Adrian Walker. And she essentially says that she felt she had to beg the mayor to reach out to her following her son's death. And I guess that just makes me wonder how much faith there is that the city is not only going to respond to these tragedies in a way that feels adequate, but also whether it will truthfully address these root causes.

Yablo: I can't confirm or deny the first aspect of that in terms of the ask of the mayor. But what I can say, though, is that you and I are members of historically marginalized groups. We both know about trust and legitimacy of the very systems that have marginalized us. And we're talking about the city of Boston. Right now, we have our second mayor of color. We are making strides in terms of reversing the systems that have been oppressive to us. But I say that to say: if someone that's residing in a neighborhood that has been historically marginalized or is a member of a group that has been historically marginalized, every feeling of hesitancy, hatred in certain cases, and wariness towards government is legitimate.

Alston: Your relationship to this is extremely different from mine. But I do know that part of the reason your predecessor left this role was because of the emotional toll it was taking on him. And I just wonder, how do you take care of yourself so that you can continue doing the work that needs to be done?

Yablo: I am an extremely privileged person. You know, I have the means to leave Boston for the weekend and get away. I have the means to get access to therapy. I have the means to take care of myself. I say all that to say, though, because I am so privileged and I am aware of my privilege, a lot of my self-care comes from getting work done for other people, because I know that at the end of the day I go home, I go make my filet and mashed potatoes, and I cuddle with my dog and I watch 'House Hunters,' right? That's not the life that even certain people two houses down from me are living. So I am grounded in my privilege. But also, care for me knowing that I'm caring about my community.