January 30, 2024

Gwendolyn Saffo, Vice President of the League of Women Voters in Alachua County (LWVAC) and chair of the LWVAC Gun Violence Prevention & Safety Committee was interviewed by The Independent Florida Alligator regarding the January 22, 2024, joint meeting between Alachua County Commissioners and Gainesville City Commissioners and the vote toward developing a plan to stop gun violence in Gainesville and Alachua County. The full article is available here and also appears below:

Gainesville community members develop initiatives in wake of gun violence legislation

Communication and involvement could guide children in a safer direction, parents believe

Stephanie Scott fought hard for her children’s well-being and still endured the most difficult pain a parent could go through.

She lost her 13-year-old son, Christopher Scott, after he died from a shooting at a birthday party in 2021. She said she always tried to involve herself in her son’s life and often still recalls what she could have done differently.

“I fought so hard for my son,” she said. “My worst nightmare came true.”

The Gainesville City Commission declared gun violence a public health crisis during a meeting in February 2023. The city’s gun violence is affecting families like the Scott family and instilling fear in many city areas like Gainesville American Legion, the event space where Christopher Scott was shot.

From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, there were 83 incidents where shots were fired, killing a total sum of seven people. From Jan. 1 the start of 2024 to Jan. 15, there have been 13 incidents where shots were fired, resulting in the deaths of two people, according to a data report shared by Alachua County’s Criminal Investigation Division.

The city implemented efforts to combat firearm misuse during 2023, yet attempts have continuously clashed with state law.

Rep. Chuck Brannan, R-Macclenny, who represents part of Alachua County, sponsored a bill reducing the age to purchase a firearm from 21 to 18, countering the legislature’s vote in 2018 to raise the age from 18 to 21 following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

But with limited movement in legislation, some Gainesville residents are more concerned with whether violence has less to do with policy and more about discipline.

Stephanie Scott is encouraging parents to keep up with their children’s social media accounts, friends and extracurriculars to establish clear communication, she said.

Jarell Whitehead, a 38-year-old Gainesville resident and the co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Strong-MINDed Mentoring, said he also agrees with the need to become more involved.

Strong-MINDed’s mission is to bridge the gap between home and school, giving children and teens the opportunity to engage with role models and encourage healthy activities like athletics and the arts, he said.

Whitehead believes violent reactions start in earlier development and could be prevented with more parental communication, guidance and external resources, he said.

There are children in underserved communities who are experiencing poor living conditions and are deprived of discipline, leading them to be more exposed to harmful influences, Whitehead said.

Whitehead, being a father himself, said it's important for a child to have a role model.

Besides parenting, Whitehead recalls growing up in Gainesville and believes there’s been a drastic shift in resource accessibility for children, specifically community centers like Reichert House Youth Academy closing its doors in 2023.

“It was like our safe haven as kids growing up,” he said. “We don't have that anymore.”

The pandemic also could have limited the guidance children would be receiving in schools, Whitehead said.

Through his nonprofit, Whitehead also organized “Cease Violence in the Hood,” an event to educate families on communication barriers and lack of resources leading back to violent responses in children and teens.

“Cease Violence in the Hood” has taken place in Gardenia and Sugarhill, and Whitehead plans to take the event into every high-risk neighborhood in Gainesville, he said.

“We're hoping that every hood will now realize that it no longer needs to be called a hood but a community,” he said.

Remy Ronkin, a 22-year-old UF psychology senior, often recalls their memories at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and describes the shooting in 2018 as “surreal.”

“It made me more politically aware,” they said.

Ronkin was 16 years old at the time of the shooting and still had a “loose understanding of politics.” Losing two friends from their band section drove Ronkin to learn more about policy, regulation and advocacy like attending March for Our Lives in 2018, they said.

Ronkin said they think more regulation is the fundamental concern but understanding students’ responses could also be a factor to consider to prevent violence.

But they also believe violence can be difficult to identify when discussing the relationship between innate nature and modeled behavior, they said.

“I do think it is important to have a good, stable home life,” they said. “But I also believe it would make [gun violence] a lot less common if there was regulation [on] who could obtain a weapon.”

Gwendolyn Saffo, vice president of the League of Women Voters in Alachua County and chair of the Gun Violence Prevention & Safety Committee is currently focusing her work within the committee around supporting stronger legislation, but she also advocates for an increase in community resources dedicated to help guide children and teens.

“There are no other outlets for them,” she said. “So working on outlets and working on programs that steer individuals in a different direction is what is perhaps needed.”

The Gun Violence Prevention and Safety committee’s first meeting was in December in what Saffo described as a “learning and listening period” to see what initiatives could be started, she said.

Saffo is also working to distribute gun locks to community events, an initiative the committee is modeling after Broward County’s committee branch.

Recognition of behavioral patterns has also been acknowledged within the school system.

Alachua County Public School’s Chief of Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement Anntwanique Edwards said it’s difficult to attribute behavior patterns to only guidance.

“Sometimes it’s about what is being modeled, but sometimes it’s just trauma that kids have endured,” she said.

While it can be different to understand the foundation, there are still patterns they try to identify at school to increase communication within students and reduce aggressive behaviors, she said.

Parents like Stephanie Scott and Jarell Whitehead are hoping the community becomes more aware of the communication and guidance needed in children’s lives.

“If I had all the money in the world, I would go from door to door and see the needs of that mother and see the needs of that father,” Scott said.

The original article is available here.

Additional local media reporting on the joint meeting:

• The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County, Gainesville commissions discuss gun violence, plans for downtown
• WCJB: Alachua County and Gainesville commissioners take step towards developing plan to stop gun violence
• Alachua Chronicle: Gainesville City Commission and Alachua County Commission ask their staffs to make draft plan for reducing gun violence

If you're interested in getting involved with LWVAC's efforts to reduce gun violence and promote gun safety in the community, please info [at] lwv-alachua.org (contact Gwendolyn) today.