Statement on Mayor Eric Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence

The Fortune Society issues the following statement from its Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Richards, in response to the Mayor’s plans to address gun violence, as described in his Blueprint to End Gun Violence:

“The Fortune Society stands ready to collaborate with Mayor Adams on smart, effective, and holistic ways to reduce gun violence. As a community-based organization that works closely with formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals, we bear witness every day to the damage that punitive approaches have on communities and mostly people of color. These punitive policing approaches are exacerbated by inhumane conditions on Rikers Island. Unstaffed posts create dangerous conditions where incarcerated people do what they must to survive instead of focusing on self-improvement; and they bring this trauma home into our communities. As part of a comprehensive approach to addressing gun violence, we urge Mayor Adams to address unstaffed posts on Rikers Island and remember a key constituency of which Fortune is a part: nonprofit organizations that play a critical and irreplaceable role in providing services on Rikers Island, and in keeping our city safe, by reducing mass incarceration and supporting reentry and community reintegration. The Fortune Society and its sister provider agencies offer so many of the resources and services that the Mayor cites as critical to preventing gun violence: behavioral health services, youth employment programs (many serve as sites for the Summer Youth Employment Program, hosting thousands of young people annually), and a range of comprehensive supports. Our work—and the work of other nonprofits in this space— enhances individual and community stability and safety and reduces the likelihood that people will resort to gun violence. We look forward to the opportunity to engage with the Mayor on effective community-based prevention strategies.”