Gun Violence Target of Carlow's Social Justice Institutes

The University will conduct research and offer scholarships to victims.

Carlow University recently launched its Social Justice Institutes and plans to make gun violence its inaugural “Educating for Justice” issue. 

“Gun violence is a social justice issue as it disproportionately affects young people, lower-income people, people of color, and women,” says Jessica Ruffin, director of the Social Justice Institutes at Carlow.  

A two-minute video (above) is expected to be used in television ads promoting the effort. 

The goal of the SJI is to provide resources that will allow members of the community to become stronger advocates who can better identify priorities and interventions to create systemic change.

“In 2016, the American Medical Association declared that gun violence is a public health crisis, and said that more research is needed to understand the consequences of gun violence and what can be done to reduce the high rate of firearm related deaths and injuries,” says Ruffin.

Carlow will use donated funds to create need-based scholarships for students who are victims of gun violence or are family members of gun victims. The goal is to break the cycle of violence by helping victims better themselves through education.

“Our university is committed to social justice and finding ways to collaborate with others in our community to create systemic change,” says university President Suzanne K. Mellon. “Carlow’s Social Justice Institutes are tackling a wide range of issues that impact our neighborhoods, our city and our region — and gun violence prevention is one of our primary initiatives for 2017.”

Carlow University alumni have given gifts to support the scholarship for the students and for the Social Justice Institutes, and at least three contributions have been made so far.