This article was written by Pam Russell Warder
The Northside Rotary wants to get illegal guns off our streets and has a member stepping up to move this action forward.
Wellspring Second Chance Center, a Northside community organization whose mission focuses on improving life for families and vulnerable individuals, participated in the 8th Annual National Gun Violence Prevention Summit in Washington, D.C., this past December 6. The theme of the summit was Addressing Challenges and Opportunities Facing Gun Violence Prevention. The event had more than 200 attendees.
Participants included agencies from across the U.S. as well as survivors of gun violence, including those affected by the Sandy Hook School shooting in December 2012. The daylong event included speeches, breakout sessions and networking. A significant focus of the summit was to network with agencies around the country doing the work. Top agenda items included addressing legislation, holding the gun industry accountable, and keeping kids safe in school. President Joe Biden and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi addressed the summit and said that violence in our communities is a public health crisis. President Biden also spoke on December 7 at a related event, the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, which honored more than 1 million gun violence victims since the December 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.
Deseria Galloway, founder and chief executive officer of Wellspring, and member of the Northside Rotary, is pleased that Wellspring has rolled out a number of projects to reduce violence. “The work of Wellspring came to the attention of organizers of the Gun Violence Summit,” says Galloway, “which is how we got invited to participate.” One event, the well-publicized Gun Buy Back held last October in Minneapolis, was organized and hosted by Wellspring and successfully collected 115 guns. Galloway says she has a sense of urgency to deliver prevention initiatives to keep communities safe. Wellspring offers nearly a dozen programs for residents that address violence prevention, recovery for survivors, anger management, mental health management, and training for entrepreneurs (visit wellspringmn.org).
A takeaway for Minneapolis, says Galloway, is to form coalitions to deepen this work and collaborate with Mayor Jacob Frey to do more advocacy to reduce gun violence. Summit attendees were largely encouraged to connect with their mayors and develop local gun violence prevention initiatives.
“Minneapolis has the research [on gun violence], so now we have an opportunity to bring some social action to the forefront and meet more needs of our residents.”
Wellspring Second Chance Center is located at 2134 – 44th Avenue North. For more info about Wellspring visit website wellspringmn.org.
Pam Russell Warder is a Northside Rotary member and a local writer of people and places.
Note: Rotary is a global service organization that unites people from all continents and cultures who take action to deliver real, long-term solutions to our world’s most persistent issues. Our North Minneapolis Club focuses primarily on literacy, maternal health and wellness, peace and conflict resolution. Ready to get more involved in the North Minneapolis Rotary and help support our vibrant, thriving and diverse community? We meet every Tuesday via Zoom from 7:35-8:35 a.m. and we welcome Northside business people and professionals to get involved. We are also always looking for guest speakers who are making a difference in our community. Contact northmplsrotary@gmail.com to request the link.