Several recent violent incidents among kids and teens in Boston are placing a spotlight on youth trauma and how it can be properly addressed.
Advocates on Greater Boston told host Sue O'Connell that kids struggled with the pandemic and online learning, and there is a lack of case managers and diversion programs for those who need help and have too much idle time.
"Ultimately we don't want to just punish young people after something bad has happened, we want to engage in meaningful prevention to ensure that the violence, the traumatic incident, doesn't happen at all," said Ruth Zakarin, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. She said prevention starts with making sure kids and teens have what they need to feel safe.
Jumaane Kendrick, director of programs and partnerships at Mission Safe, said in some communities, violence has become normalized and there's no immediate follow-up with young people who witnessed the events.
"We need to change the mentality of that, when these things happen, what is our response?" said Kendrick, noting the need for adults on the ground to provide counseling and other services.
Both Kendrick and Zakarin said providing education about gun violence to youth is an important step to reducing it.
Watch: Recent incidents place focus on youth violence
