High school and middle school students from around the Brooklyn area were invited to the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center as part of a initiative against gun violence. According to a recent report on the program, organizers are hoping the shock of the experience will serve as a reality check for the teens. Nearly 50 students took part in the program, fully prepared to receive harsh facts about the results of gangs and gun violence.
"The gun violence rate is so high in East New York and we needed to make a change," Nicole Favours of Brookdale's public affairs department told ABC News. "What [the students have] been asked to do now is make a change."
Emergency room doctors and nurses prepared statements that depicted real emergency rooms visits. They discussed the statistics for the hospital's intake, which includes one gun shot victim every 36 hours. In the most memorable moment from the visit, the students were shown photos and videos of gunshot victims as emergency personnel rushed to save them.
At the conclusion of the program, students listened intently as the members of the public affairs department gave honest speeches about gun violence victims and their families who bear the brunt of the pain. While organizers strongly state that the initiative is not in place to scare the students, the shock and sadness on their faces shows that the experience left a lasting impact on their perceived reality when it comes to gun violence.
