Working with FUSE and youth at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church

We had the opportunity to guide some members of FUSE, Fellowship of Urban and Suburban Engagement, through the exhibition at the Swarthmore Presbyterin Church on Sunday afternoon. Later that day, we also guided youth from the church through the portraits. The discussions in both groups were engaging and compelling. Comments were made about how residents of Chester can often feel that their community only gets press when bad things happen and would portraits of gun violence victims from there perpetuate that myopic view. We discussed how the portraits are honoring the victims and, as is part of our mission, illustrating their individuality, their uniqueness, their value. While bringing attention to the fact that the majority of these horrific gun violence incidents happen more often in certain neighborhoods, we are also illustrating the importance of each life, no matter where from, and the impact of the losses on communities and families. This is a complicated issue, certainly, but all present agreed that the portraits bring a new and different kind of awareness and a sense of urgency to take action to end this epidemic.