Today, a conversation about Safe Streets, a program that uses the street wisdom of former felons and reformed gang members to fight the epidemic of gun violence in some of Baltimore’s most dangerous neighborhoods. The concept was inspired by a similar program in Chicago called Ceasefire. Community outreach workers known as "violence interrupters" patrol neighborhoods, interacting with residents and stepping in to mediate tense conflicts before they escalate to violence. Many of the violence interrupters have criminal records and gang ties, and all of them have credible reputations on the streets, an aspect that proves important when stepping into potentially violent situations. 

Advocates of Safe Streets say the program has dramatically reduced violent crime in the four community sites it’s operating in, McElderry Park, Cherry Hill, Mondawmin, and Park Heights. In 2015, Safe Streets outreach workers mediated nearly 700 conflicts, 80 percent of which were deemed “likely” or “very likely” to have resulted in gun violence.

Recently, I treated a patient in clinic, a woman in her early 40s. Just two years prior, she was experiencing homelessness and frequented emergency rooms every few weeks. Through the Affordable Care Act, she was able to get health insurance, which in turn helped her get her blood pressure managed and diabetes treated. It also enabled her to obtain treatment for depression and alcoholism.

As a result, she now had a job and a home. She regained custody of her children. Thanks to health insurance, which she called "her rock," she had her life back.

For my patient, like so many of our residents, the national uncertainty we face is deeply personal. In 2010, 81,000 adults in Baltimore City were without health insurance. That number has been cut in half — meaning that more than 40,000 now have access to life-saving care. Will their coverage now be at risk? Will our neighbors and family members be priced out of the basic right to health?

Imagine if you are an eight-year old who needs glasses but doesn’t know it. You squint to read the board. Sometimes, if you’re sitting too far back, you can’t see the board at all. Tasks that seem simple to other students, like reading a short story or understanding a map, are frustrating and almost impossible.

According to estimates from the Baltimore City Health Department and Johns Hopkins University, as many as 10,000 elementary and middle school students in Baltimore City lack the glasses they need. Not only do students with vision problems have difficulty focusing and fall behind their peers academically, but also have a greater tendency for hyperactivity, distractibility, and misbehavior.

It is common sense that if children cannot see, they cannot learn. They can go through years of struggle, even being set back in school or labeled as being “troubled”, before they are treated with something as simple as a pair of glasses.

On Thursday, Dr. Wen and BCHD staff joined Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, City Council President Jack Young, Aaron Merki from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and Kathy Brill from the Leonard & Helen R. Stulman Charitable Foundation to celebrate the grand opening of the Waxter Senior Center Fitness Center.

This 3,000 square foot fitness center will provide Waxter center members and the surrounding community with new fitness equipment and a space for therapeutic services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other health related activities.