Precious Lives

Stories about kids, guns and how to stop the violence. Precious Lives, created by 371 Productions, is a 2-year, 100-part weekly radio series about gun violence and young people in the Milwaukee area. The series applies a public health lens to each story to help listeners understand the full scope of the problem: who are the victims and the shooters; how are the weapons obtained; and what can we change about the environment that contributes to violence in Milwaukee?

#033 Precious Lives: Promoting Peace, Not Youth Violence Prevention

WUWM 89.7 FM

Published August 25, 2015 at 11:59 AM CDT

Fidel Verdin, co-founder of Summer of Peace, with his two children at the Peace Park and Garden, which he created.

Fidel Verdin, cofounder of Summer of Peace, watering plants at the Peace Park and Garden he created.

Amidst the various organizations, discussion panels and antigun summits to “end the violence” in Milwaukee, Fidel Verdin is trying something different.

He says that language focused on guns and violence promotes bad behavior rather than prevents it. That’s why he cofoundedSummer of Peace, a citywide youth rally to promote positive things that young people do in the city like music, dance, poetry and art. But to promote the positive people have to see it, and Fidel knows the perfect venues: vacant lots.