Addressing Gun Violence: Seattle Ceasefire

I’ve already outlined my plan to model a ceasefire strategy based on violence reduction programs in other cities that reduced gun violence by . However, in the wake of 9 shootings and 2 stabbings taking place in Seattle just within June 17-24 and recent youth victims, I have to speak out. If the City of Seattle can make a for zero deaths related to traffic, then so too can it make the same commitment for zero deaths related to senseless gun violence. I propose a Seattle Ceasefire that will (1) youth violence prevention, (2) reduce shootings, (3) improve life outcomes, (4) reduce recidivism rates, and (5) build better relationships in the community.

I want to be very clear that this is not accomplished through arrests and incarceration. This does not involve more law enforcement. Rather, we must have a community-based approach that identifies individuals at the highest risk of participating in serious violence before any incidents take place. And this identification doesn’t happen through the media or police. It happens when those who have typically used gun violence to address the cycles of trauma and harm in their lives instead turn to the community to heal. A community-based approach will ask for guidance from the community who has been most impacted by gun violence, an Echohawk administration will follow their leadership and resource community-led programs and interventions.  

Youth Violence Prevention

Youth violence prevention practitioners need to be funded at the City level, since they are not being adequately funded elsewhere, so that they can work and connect with high-risk youth. This has to be done at a minimum after all emergency room visits for gunshot wounds. 

We need to address the institutional factors that force many of our kids into violence. Reducing court referrals and school expulsions / suspensions must be prioritized. Oftentimes, these measures simply perpetuate the failed systems we have in place, as they offer no tangible solutions. Instead, we have to meet our youth where they are at through culturally competent intervention. At the end of the day, interventions need to be designed where youth want to participate in them. Trauma-informed care, restorative justice practice, and a system that rewards instead of punishes is how we can truly make steps in this area. Choose 180 and Community Passageways offer restorative based programs to at risk youth, something we should continue to support and expand. 

Community learning centers also need to be funded, as they teach the skills and foster the collaboration necessary to involve families in the success of their children. Homework clubs, neighborhood gardens, family workshops, college advising, arts programs, music groups, and sports teams are just some of many areas community learning centers can run. By providing youth with an outlet to express themselves and participate in their communities, they will have other opportunities available to them. This can be run concurrently with a youth mentorship program, having someone in their lives to guide them through difficult situations. 

Reduce Shootings 

Street outreach teams, led by those with true lived experience, will facilitate authentic communication and provide access to neighborhood organizations. Stockton, California pursued this in its violence prevention program, employing formerly incarcerated individuals to build relationships with those most impacted by gun violence. There was a in gun violence.

It is estimated that up to of patients treated for violent injury are re-injured within five years. One survey of victims of violence at five-year follow-up found that of patients treated for violent injury had died. Hospitals should not just be places where residents go to receive treatment for injuries. This is why a hospital-based intervention program will be another one of my priorities as Mayor. Through this, we can offer crisis intervention and case management services to individuals who are treated for violent injury at hospitals. Residents are followed up with after being discharged, with the intention of preventing both retaliatory violence and reinjury. Home visits, long-term case management, connections to neighborhood programs, and practitioners who are not part of the harmful system we currently have in place are all part of this type of intervention. To have any meaningful interventions, we first need to restore trust that has been broken. This is how we reduce shootings - not a shameless cycle from the streets to prison. 

Reducing violence is not accomplished through more patrols, but more community. By ensuring that all streets and sidewalks are properly lit, a Complete Streets model is adopted, and that we build holistic neighborhoods, community members will naturally look out for one another. The broken windows theory, which justifies public surveillance and increased police presence on the basis of visible signs of crime, has for far too long defined our urban neighborhoods. Jaywalking, vandalism, and mental health crises are not crimes - but are indicative of failed institutions that have placed individuals in inevitable positions. If we can foster real, urban, and bustling street life, our City will renew a sense of vibrancy to keep all neighborhoods safe. 

Crime prevention through environmental design is another violence prevention strategy I will pursue. Understanding that the built environment impacts public behavior, we must think creatively about ways to design our space. Managing sustainable resident flow through clear entrances and exits will limit the areas where crime can occur. Further, revamping land design to expand visibility and usage will limit the opportunities in which perpetrators can take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

By identifying violence hot zones, like the , we can divert funding to these areas specifically for violence prevention, instead of following the common trend of divesting from these communities. Group violence interventions are also proven to work, calling folx in, creating frameworks to hold one another accountable, facilitating strong follow through on commitments made, and resolving conflicts before they become violent. Having one’s peers directly assist in this process is far more inclusive a strategy. 

Improve Life Outcomes

My Police Reform and Public Safety plan goes into detail about my plans to have crisis response teams respond to mental health related calls for service, as well as cultivating relationships with King County and community partners to build a centralized urban stabilization and restoration center, we can integrate mobile response on one end with sustained recovery on the other. However, we need to place an emphasis on Black maternal health. By eliminating bias in this area, we can expand City grant funding to community-based providers, fund maternal mental healthcare, normalize trauma informed care, and take a health in all policies approach to legislation. 

Another aspect of this involves having those most impacted by gun violence be the ones making the legislative recommendations and policy decisions at the City level. It is very important that I appoint members of the community to the relevant City Commissions and Boards who have lived experience on this matter. They will be far better equipped to direct policy than past leadership. One cannot truly create a violence prevention strategy unless it is done with the direct involvement, consultation, and approval of those who have been impacted. This is how we escape from the cycle of punishment and arrests instead to a new model of prevention, intervention, suppression, reentry, and the equitable distribution of resources.  Let’s expand Career Bridges too, which is a program designed to help low income and struggling individuals access career and employment opportunities. 

Reduce Recidivism Rates

Health equity, where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full health potentials, is not talked about enough when it comes to recidivism. Every resident should have access to the social determinants of health, which are the conditions that shape health outcomes. Community safety encompasses one of the largest components of these social determinants, which is why public safety and police accountability represents a large part of my platform. I have witnessed first hand both the good and bad of police interactions within the urban Native homeless population while leading the Chief Seattle Club for the past 7 years.

I also have actual experience inside the Community Police Commission (CPC), giving me an unparalleled perspective into the failures of the current system right here in Seattle. I, and the rest of the Seattle Native community, deeply felt the impact of the murder of John T. Williams at the hands of the police. This is why an Office of Crime Intervention will be created under an Echohawk Administration, allowing us to track trends, develop neighborhood focused strategy, and identify those likely to participate in gun violence using an informed approach that is not driven by the inequities of the criminal justice system. The Office of Crime Prevention can also create trainings to build awareness in the community and direct residents to organizer-led mutual aid funds.

The average cost of hospital treatment is . If we reduce recidivism rates through preventative care, then we will save the public significantly more money. We can then reinvest these dollars into BIPOC communities that are already underfunded by the City. Let’s invest in the community, rather than a system that has not produced us any results. 

Built Better Relationships in the Community

Years ago, Washington Ceasefire worked to create Gun Free Zones in Seattle. Participating businesses placed decals in their windows to let the public and customers know they would be entering in a safe space free of harmful weapons. I support this program and the businesses that are part of it as well. I am interested in expanding this program to be placed outside our public parks, municipal buildings, and community spaces. Another measure I support is the gun violence tax on firearm and ammunition sellers, so that we are not the ones picking up the costs for the violence they play a major role in. However, we have to significantly raise this tax so it is harder to purchase these items. We can partner with King County on this, protecting a much broader area and raising more money regionally. 

I will also broaden outreach into the community, so that we can avoid unintentional gun deaths. It is worth exploring ways the City can assist in notifying victims of domestic violence when protections are expiring and allowing people in mental health crises to add their names to the prohibited firearm purchase list.