Gun Violence Survivors Network

In June 2018, three gun violence survivors and anti-gun violence advocates, Natasha Christopher, Shenee Johnson and Marie Delus, met while volunteering their time to help stop gun violence. Through their advocacy and their work with fellow survivors, they identified an opportunity to partner with the City to improve services provided to people who have experienced loss due to gun violence. By forming this committee, the Gun Violence Survivors Network believes they will be able to help fellow survivors during the most difficult moments of their lives.

Advisory Council

Mission

The Gun Violence Survivors Advisory Council is a select group comprised of anti-violence advocates and gun violence survivors that works to facilitate and offer advice to government agencies and community-based organizations on services available to families of victims of gun violence.

Purpose

To assess and advise community stakeholders (i.e. City agencies, political leaders, gun‐violence prevention organizations, and survivor partners) who provide direct support to families of victims of gun violence on programmatic efficacy in meeting their specialized needs.

Challenge

Often, after families experience harm as a result of gun violence through physical injury or loss of life, it is a daunting and sometimes re-traumatizing experience to navigate systems and seek resources. As a result, there is a need for anti-violence experts and/or survivors to facilitate the process by offering practical advice to government agencies and community-based organizations through a lens of lived experience.

Goal

To improve services available to families of victims of gun violence by informing city agency partners and community-based organizations from a survivor's perspective.

Board Member

Requirements for Membership
Members of GSVNAC will be seven (7) in number, consisting of: (i) three (3) persons selected by the NYC Mayor's Office to Prevent Gun Violence (OPGV) and four (4) survivors of gun violence.
All GSVNAC members will be selected through an application process, which will be reviewed and then appointed by the advisory committee chair and a representative from OPGV.

If you have questions or if you would like more information, please email opgv@cityhall.nyc.gov.