St. Vil speaks on gun violence prevention

WBFO News reports that Christopher St. Vil, associate professor in the School of Social Work, spoke at a forum on gun violence prevention, emphasizing that gun violence is not just an issue for law enforcement but for the community as well. St. Vil said it will take youth leadership to affect positive change among youth.

“It takes a community, right? And this is where this whole concept of community violence intervention ecosystem comes in,” he said. “We don't want to rely on the traditional approaches that get these kids locked up — the criminal justice approach. For some people it might work. We know some people go to jail, and it works for them. But for the most part, the impact of incarceration is impacting the whole community, and it's impacting these families. We have to change the way that we do things.”