PEP Examines Youth Homicides in St. Louis

by Charles Kindleberger, board member

Shootings and deaths have soared in St. Louis. A hot summer is likely to contribute to even higher numbers. The moms, grandmothers and other survivors of these incidents suffer. At a basic level is the financial cost to the immediate family – the cost of a funeral, a burial plot, loss of a breadwinner and more. More importantly is the emotional pain – the heartache, loss, sorrow, guilt, fear and PTSD experienced by family and friends.

With this in mind, PEP applied for and received a small grant from the Deaconess Foundation with the intent of giving voice to those who lost a child or a friend. Even before the Ferguson tragedy, we realized that the issue was very complicated, that beyond individual family pain was the loss experienced by the neighborhoods and municipalities where extensive violence occurs. Real estate markets collapse, developers turn away, businesses are abandoned and public safety costs expand. At still a wider level are implications for the region; corporate relocations, investment in jobs that fail to happen, sprawl that is accelerated, conventions and tourism that go to other locations.

However our focus has been on the families and friends who suffer.  We have begun interviewing surviving mothers and grandmothers, brothers and sisters. Identifying and convincing people to talk has not been easy, but when we succeed, we are impressed by the number of people who welcome the chance to tell their story.

It is too early to reach final conclusions, and as one would expect there is wide variation in reactions: Some had a foreboding of trouble before the death; others had no clue that their son was in danger.  Some believe the police did what they could; others are concerned that more has not been done to protect kids and solve the crime. Some wonder if an involved father, teacher or mentor might have made a difference; others despair that anything could have been done.

At this stage of our research, we have become aware of various programs that help ease the immediate pain.

• Homicide, Ministers and Community Alliance (HMCA) – a group of volunteer ministers who advise the family on details surrounding the funeral and burial, attend the funeral if requested and encourage cooperation with the police.

• Faces Not Forgotten recruits local artists to produce a portrait of young (less than 20) homicide victims. The family gets the original while replications are mounted on vintage hanker-shifts. A wall hanging that contains copies of multiple portraits is especially powerful.

• Crime Victims Support Center provides condolences, advice and referrals to counselling for survivors of homicide incidents. She coordinates with HMCA and Faces.

• Missouri Crime Victim’s Compensation program can reimburse impoverished families for their funeral costs up to $5,000.

• Better Family Life has a Neighborhood Outreach and Assistance program, a “Put Down the Pistol” program and related initiatives that strive to identify troubled youth and their families, and to connect them with appropriate resources.

In the coming months we anticipate speaking with additional families and with organizations, universities and police involved in this on-going tragedy.  During 2014, 138 individuals were murdered in the City of St. Louis with a gun, and more were murdered in St. Louis County. Of the city victims, 27 were teenagers and 90 were less than age 30.  By contrast, 55 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. St. Louis has worse numbers than most, but clearly there is an on-going war in many of our cities. Much, much more needs to be done.