Gun violence

Re “4 people, including 3 teenagers, shot overnight in Hampton” (June 28): On June 27, four people, including three teenagers, were shot in Hampton. A man was shot in his car, also in Hampton, on July 2. On July 4, a minor female was shot in Newport News. On July 5, a Hampton man was shot and killed in his vehicle in Newport News.

Our local news paints a picture of increasing gun violence in Hampton

Roads and all over the state. Gun violence has progressed beyond its traditional characterization as a political issue. It is now a public health crisis, and our elected officials must act.

During its upcoming session Aug. 2, the General Assembly has the opportunity to determine how it will spend $4.3 billion of funds that Virginia has been granted from the American Rescue Plan. The U.S. Treasury Department released guidance advising that these funds can be used to support community violence intervention programs, due to the rise in violence that occurred during the pandemic.

To that end, it is imperative that our elected officials earmark a portion of Virginia’s American Rescue Plan funds to address this issue, and particularly to provide more money to the Gun Violence Intervention Program. This program is set up to award funds directly to community-based organizations that work to implement research-based violence intervention and prevention strategies. These are the advocates who do the grassroots work in combatting our gun violence epidemic, and they need our help.

Virginia has a massive opportunity to make real progress in gun violence prevention; let’s not waste it.

Rebecca Crocker, Yorktown