First gun violence prevention town hall is set: ‘We want to hear from everybody, from all walks of life’

The effects of gun violence, harm reduction strategies and support services will take center stage at the first Gun Violence Prevention Initiative Town Hall Saturday.

The community meeting will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 202 S. Genesee St in Waukegan. The event is hosted by the Lake County state’s attorney’s office Gun Violence Prevention Initiative (GVPI) in collaboration with Jesus Name Apostolic Church and LiveFree Lake County.

The purpose of the event is for the GVPI to gain community input as the organization strategizes solutions for gun violence, and also to spread awareness about the organization’s mission and goals.

The mission of the GVPI, which was launched in June 2022, is to address the root causes of gun violence, and implement proven short-term and long-term strategies to interrupt cycles of gun violence.

A panel of experts will provide insight into the effects of trauma, the lived experience of gun violence and violence prevention efforts around the country. The panel will include Sandra Bankston, a therapist at the state’s attorney’s office; Shawn Lewis, program director at Lake County Peacemakers; Marcus McAllister, a consultant for GVPI and violence interrupter specialist; and Tierra Lemon, director of GVPI.

Lemon said she wants to make sure the community is involved in the process of developing reduction strategies, and to ensure they don’t feel like something was created without their voice.

“We are developing the strategies for people that have already been impacted by this issue,” Lemon said. “I think that it’s only right that we look to those people as experts, because they’ve endured the trauma.

“They’re constantly enduring the trauma and who better to tell you what’s needed than the people who’ve been through the situations themselves,” she said.

Lemon said she is looking forward to learning what people view as the root causes of gun violence to support the overall mission of implementing programs that are trauma-informed to reduce violence.

“If we’re going to create a whole violence-reduction strategy for the entire county, we want to make sure that people have a role in that,” she said.

Lake County Board member Sara Knizhnik, D-Vernon Hills, who advocated for the creation of the GVPI, said models of violence-interruption and prevention are proven to work in other cities across the county to help those at risk of gun violence.

“In addition to addressing the problem of everyday gun violence, it’s about building out a network of support so that all of these great services that we have available in Lake County get to the people who are the most in risk and at risk of committing, or being a victim of violence,” Knizhnik said.

A number of community organizations that partner with GVPI will be present to offer resources and services, including Lake County Peacemakers, a community violence intervention group, A Safe Place, which provides resources for victims of domestic violence, the Boys and Girls Club and more.

“Gun violence is really becoming a norm in a lot of different communities,” Lemon said, so spreading awareness about the impacts of gun violence is another priority of the town hall.

Some of the impacts of gun violence, other than physical harms, include hypervigilance, disruption of sleep patterns and unhealthy coping strategies, to name a few.

Attendees are encouraged to ask questions about the initiative’s work, and share their experiences.

“We hope to hear directly from the people who are most impacted by everyday gun violence, about not just what they need, but what barriers they may be facing when they try to get the kinds of services and support that they need,” Knizhnik said.

Services that she is referring to includes the gamut of behavioral health services, such as harm reduction, recovery services and mental health support, particularly culturally competent behavioral health services.

Other challenges people face that can contribute to the root causes of gun violence include food insecurity, housing insecurity and educational inequities.

The town hall in Waukegan is the first of many events to be held by GVPI, which will begin a “tour” around Lake County to spread awareness about the initiative and learn from those with related experiences.

Lemon and Knizhnik said the organization wants to give every resident of Lake County the opportunity to participate in a town hall, tell GVPI how gun violence is affecting their lives and what they need in order to feel safer in their communities.

“Everyone is welcome,” Knizhnik said. “We want to hear from everybody, from all walks of life. The Gun Violence Prevention Initiative is for all of Lake County.

“The GVPI’s mission is to address gun violence countywide, and to help people understand that if you want to end gun violence in Libertyville, you have to focus on ending gun violence in Waukegan, because the threats are related,” she said.