When it comes to homicides in St. Louis, the city is in danger of reversing the progress from last year. As of December 18th, St. Louis has logged 191 Homicides, nearly compared to the total 195 in 2021. There have been 13 killings in the past 10 days which has sent homicide totals soaring and is on pace to surpass the total from 2021. Any loss of life is troubling, but when they happen in such a short period of time, it is certainly a cause for concern.
Citizens and business leaders are asking the city to do more to stop the violence. As families continue to mourn the loss of life of their loved ones, many are asking what is being done to mitigate this problem.
One organization that has stepped up is “Cure Violence Global.” Cure Violence and the American Arbitration Association – International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation are partnering to develop the next generation of training for community-based violence intervention. The partnership will enable Cure Violence to utilize the deep expertise and lived experience of its training staff and partner network to produce training that makes violence prevention programs more effective and sustainable. The Ceo of Cure Violence Global, Dr. Fredrick Echols stated “We treat violence as a disease and we do our best to break the systemic racism trends that have impacted communities of color over time. This allows us to focus on the root cause of the problem.”
Another organization. LoveTheLou is focusing on healing violence by addressing the issue of poverty. LoveTheLou believes a lot of violence occurs due to community hardships. They have three programs under their umbrella which are STL Lift which offers work for our teens throughout the year, STL Link which links north city neighbors to outside jobs, and STL Live which provides affordable housing in areas that need it badly.
Another important organization is LOV (Life outside of Violence.) This program helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support, and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence Their mission is to decrease incidences of retaliation, criminal involvement, re-injury, and death.
Although these organizations and many others have de-escalated hundreds of conflicts, the question still remains, What can be done to reduce the rise of homicides in St. Louis? This is an ongoing argument that has failed to be answered.
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