The mission of Project Unloaded is to prevent gun violence in all its forms by educating, engaging, and empowering teens through cultural campaigns and community partnerships that share a simple message: guns make us less safe. Sponsored by TYDE, the Gun Violence Solutions Project, and Youth-Nex, the youth-focused non-profit visited UVA for a series of meaningful discussions in early November. The visit was timely as our community approached the third anniversary of the on-campus shooting that took the lives of three members of the UVA football team.
The event began with “Teens & Guns: Issues & Solutions for Youth Gun Violence Prevention,” a panel discussion led by James Burnett of The Trace, in which participants considered the myriad challenges young people face in the midst of gun violence. Bryan Page of Central Virginia Violence Interrupters emphasized the lack of resources and positive role modeling, and the gun-positive messaging from musicians and influencers, that continue to be ever-present barriers in underserved communities like his. UVA student and food insecurity activist Phoebe Zamoff emphasized the profound anxiety and emotional exhaustion severely affecting Gen Zs and Millennials, the first generation(s) to grow up amidst the normalization of mass shootings. (Three days prior, UVA recovered from an incident that reported an active shooter on campus, only to be confirmed hours later as a false alarm.) There were, however, threads of optimism as leaders of Project Unloaded, Nina Vinik and Olivia Brown, shared evidence that today’s young people, particularly those with whom they work daily, are fighting back with positive messaging through effective advocacy and social media campaigns.
Vinik closed by saying, “I feel hopeful knowing this generation will be the ones to lead this fight.”
Later that evening, Vinik and Brown met with TYDE’s Youth Advisory Board for “Social Media for Safer Communities,” a discussion that addressed the ways young people might initiate difficult conversations with peers and family about gun violence. Brown opened with an icebreaker that asked, “What makes you all feel safe?” The answers were simple but meaningful, while the solutions to gun violence remain much more complex. Teens’ concerns resonated with the issue’s profound sensitivity, the difficulties in conducting respectful conversations, and the constant exposure to misinformation. To help with these hurdles, Project Unloaded shared statistics from their website, encouraged teens to share their social media campaigns and reference their Toolkit for Young People Building Safer Communities. The evening closed with each individual sharing an action they would take to get the conversation started.
For more information on gun violence, its impact on our youth, or if you’re a young person who would like to get involved, please visit Project Unloaded. If you’re in Central Virginia and need assistance or advice deescalating violence in your community, please reach out to Central Virginia Violence Interrupters.
