The city of Boston has already had 128 shootings this year. Thanks to advances in medicine, many victims are fortunately surviving.
But surviving a shooting is painful and costly, and victims don’t just suffer physical and financial pain. paid in the form
Roca CEO and Founder Molly Baldwin said:
Roca is a Massachusetts-wide outreach group focused on stopping the cycle of urban violence and poverty. When someone is shot, Roca tries to help them and their families get the support and help they need in the days, months and years after the shot.
“Everyone who is a victim of gun violence has experienced at least one traumatic event. “It can affect their brains, thinking and functioning.”
Every victim of gun violence has experienced at least one traumatic event. Most of the young people we know have multiple, and often ongoing, complex traumas.
Molly Baldwin
Over time, that trauma spreads from the survivor to the family and ultimately the community. It all has to come with the serious health and financial loss of someone getting shot.
Dr. Jirui Song, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, said: .
In a recent paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he lays out the economic reasons for reducing gun violence.
“The biggest takeaway from this study is the serious health and economic impact of gun violence, especially non-fatal firearm injuries, in the United States,” Song said.
According to this study, the average medical cost of a gunshot survivor jumps to $30,000 in the first year alone. Surveys show that the majority of gun violence victims are uninsured or have Medicare or Medicaid, so the public ultimately pays, Song said. I’m here. “
Through wage waivers, taxpayers and workers pay the majority of direct medical costs resulting from non-fatal gunshot wounds,” he said.
According to a study conducted by Everytown for Gun Safety, gun injuries cost the United States $557 billion annually when combined the cost of treating victims, prosecuting shooters, and quality of life.
“Survivors are not only feeling the effects on their health and economy, but also on their families and society as a whole,” Song said.
Baldwin, frankly, laments the normalization of gun violence in America despite the staggering cost to all of us.
“What happens when you start parenting with the idea that you might get shot and die young? Is this normal? How do you help keep them safe?” Baldwin said. continue to worsen,” he said.
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