This session is part of the monthly “Peace Talks” series presented by Rotary District 7620 Peace Committee
Stanton Elementary School serves Black American children from very low-income families with little education and limited economic opportunities in South East Washington DC. They live in an environment where deaths from gun violence are common, including shots fired at the school while children were attending classes. Many children and their parents are dealing with trauma from the deaths of loved ones as mothers struggle to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads. Stanton students’ average scores in standardized achievement testing are only in the 27th percentile. Time4Us2GetInvolved, a coalition of community leaders, healthcare experts, and advocates, is reframing gun violence as a public health crisis and stressing the economic, social and psychological impact on affected families, particularly children. Through a collaborative partnership with the Rotary Club of Washington, DC, this coalition is implementing a prevention-focused initiative addressing youth violence, trauma, and community health. The panelists will discuss the importance of early intervention and describe ongoing preventive measures such the debate club, and drama as well as tutoring of Stanton Elementary School students, and counseling for their parents. Another topic for discussion is the professional mental health work needed to help children deal with trauma from losing loved ones. Panelists will also examine the systemic issues underlying the poverty, lack of education, and resulting youth frustration and anger at the lack of opportunities that too often ends in gun violence and deaths. The chair of this panel and the Peace Committee of the Rotary Club of Washington DC, Kenneth Barnes, has channeled his own grief and trauma at the loss of his own son to gun violence into his dedication to reduction of gun violence in DC.
Moderator: Mari Clarke, Chair, Rotary District 7620 Peace Committee, President Rotary Club of Washington Global, Faculty Affiliate Carter School
Opening Remarks: Arthur Romano, Associate Professor, Director of the Program on Urban Peacebuilding, Carter School
Panelists:
Kenneth Barnes, MS, Rotary Club of Washington DC Peace Committee Chair; Co-Chair Rotary District 7620 Peace Committee
Kamal Ali, Chairman Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation
Dr. William Lawson, MD, PhD, DLFAPA — Founder & Director, Institute for Reducing Disparities LLC; Immediate President, Senior Psychiatrists Inc.
Donnie Show, Immediate Past President Rotary Club of Washington DC
Linda Solomon Rotary Club of Washington DC; Board Chair Rotary Foundation of Washington DC
