700 crosses planted in front of Camden City Hall
Stop Trauma on People (S.T.O.P), an anti-violence community group, planted 700 crosses and other symbols Tuesday in front of Camden City Hall to represent the people who have been killed between 1995 and 2012, two record-breaking years for murders in the city.
700 crosses planted in front of Camden City Hall
Stop Trauma on People (S.T.O.P), an anti-violence community group, planted 700 crosses and other symbols Tuesday in front of Camden City Hall to represent the people who have been killed between 1995 and 2012, two record-breaking years for murders in the city.
Just last year, Camden recorded 67 homicides, its most ever. It was a 20 person increase from 2011, which just recently gave Camden the title of highest crime rate in the country, also known as the "Most Dangerous" city title.
Based on STOP's calculations of annual homicide numbers, 708 people have been killed since 1995, said one of the STOP leaders Fr. Jeff Putthoff.
The group obtained a permit from the city to cover the entire front lawn of City Hall with the grim reminder that Camden is the most dangerous and poorest city in the country (see my post from yesterday.) On Monday, the group met with Mayor Dana L. Redd who was supportive of the group's plan to host a trauma summit in Camden.
"Since 1995, we seem to be focused on public safety being the answer," Putthoff said, adding that poverty and the trauma it causes on people needs to be addressed.
"We are not recognizing what poverty does to people," he said.
Camden was also named the nation's poorest city last year.
Comments (1)
I wish the people we elect into public office could figure this out. We throw money at the city, nothing changes. New mayors, new governors, how many people have come and gone in the past 60 years who couldn't help the city? Humans have sent people to the moon, we've moved rivers, but we cannot figure out how to end systemic poverty and suffering in our own country. It's an extraordinary shame.— thegreengrass
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About this blog
Claudia Vargas has been covering Camden’s fascinating characters, quirks and city council and school board meetings since January 2011. Having grown up in a bilingual household, Claudia enjoys the diversity of Camden and the opportunity to connect with the large Spanish-speaking population.
Claudia Vargas
Prior to covering Camden, Claudia wrote about South Jersey’s interesting dead as the South Jersey obituary writer. Before arriving at the Inquirer in 2010, Claudia covered crime in Rochester, NY, which, like Camden, has struggled to emerge from the fall of its industrial peak several decades ago.
You may contact Claudia at cvargas@phillynews.com and follow Claudia on Twitter here.
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