What toll does witnessing gun violence take on young people?

Trauma from exposure to gun violence can impact attendance, behavior and academic achievement of students.

By Lynnea Domienik
Peacekeepers walk the streets of Roseland canvassing hotspots for violence.
Peacekeepers walk the streets of Roseland and West Pullman on Thursday, making a nightly canvass of hotspots for violence. Some 500 workers, drawn from a population of city residents at high risk of being involved in gun violence — as a victim or perpetrator — will be stationed in 102 sites this year to suppress violence. Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times
Peacekeepers walk the streets of Roseland canvassing hotspots for violence.
Peacekeepers walk the streets of Roseland and West Pullman on Thursday, making a nightly canvass of hotspots for violence. Some 500 workers, drawn from a population of city residents at high risk of being involved in gun violence — as a victim or perpetrator — will be stationed in 102 sites this year to suppress violence. Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times

What toll does witnessing gun violence take on young people?

Trauma from exposure to gun violence can impact attendance, behavior and academic achievement of students.

By Lynnea Domienik
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Half of Chicagoans witness a shooting by 40, according to a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. And the average age for witnessing a shooting is only 14 years old.

Reset learns about how this trauma can impact young people’s developing brains and discusses efforts to help students heal and turn the tide of violence.

GUESTS: Jemia Cunningham-Elder, CEO of North Lawndale College Prep

Judith Allen, clinical director and chief operating officer of Communities In Schools

Camya Jones, rising senior and member of Peace Warriors at North Lawndale College Prep

Summer Bell, seventh-grader at Eberhart Elementary

Jaylen Trice, eighth-grader at Woodson Elementary