Why I Walk

May 7, 2020

As I prepared to work in the hospital last week, I anticipated what I would see in the intensive care unit. I was asked to work in two new ICUs, opened in response to the growing number of patients admitted with severe complications from COVID-19. I expected to see people on ventilators, lonely patients without family at the bedside, and healthcare workers working around the clock in full personal protective equipment. I was as prepared as one can be for the frustration of watching people get sicker and knowing that we had little in the way of treatment.

After a week of rounds, I realized what I hadn’t prepared for: the epidemic of violence continues throughout this pandemic. Yes, the ICU was filled with patients intubated and on ventilators for weeks. But, we also had to make space for victims of trauma. The operating rooms largely sat empty, but the lights were still on for trauma surgeons as they continued their life saving work. While COVID-19 has slowed so much of our society, it has accelerated the epidemic of gun violence in our communities.

March 2020 saw the greatest number of background checks for gun purchases in Massachusetts in nearly a decade. Despite social distancing advisories, there has been no difference in the number of gun deaths in Boston compared to last year. With the closure of Boston Public Schools, more children are at home with access to firearms. And, the emotional toll of prolonged isolation and fear of infection raise concern for a heightened risk of firearm-related suicide.

Because of this, the work must continue. This Sunday the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute will hold its 24th Annual Mother’s Day Walk For Peace - an annual celebration of the hard work done by the Peace Institute and its tireless leader, Clementina Chéry, to combat gun violence in our city and lift up the voices of survivors. While being held virtually, the walk will show our strength as a community as we come together and support those who are impacted every day by homicide, violence, and loss.

As a physician, I know the statistics: Black people are 15 times more likely to die from gun violence in Massachusetts than white people; nearly 60% of gun deaths in the state are suicides, all Massachusetts victims of gun deaths related to intimate partner violence are women. I also know that the experiences of my patients - exposure to systemic racism, stigma related to mental health diagnoses, deep-seeded misogyny - make it harder for them to live a healthy life, whether related to gun violence or COVID-19.

Last May I walked in the rain and cold with thousands of others, using our voices and our feet to raise awareness and lift up the survivors of gun violence. This year, while we can’t use our feet we can still use our voices. I’m asking you to join me and my colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital in our support of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. Together, we can erase violence from our communities.