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'This virus is just as deadly': Louisville's gun violence interventionists fight COVID-19

Jonathan Bullington
Louisville Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – At 43rd and Market, Eddie Woods points out the chainlink fence he says is a popular summer hangout spot for guys in the Market Street Crips.

It was empty Saturday afternoon.

Down 41st to West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, on a block flanked by a corner store and a church, is a spot he says has been the scene of several shootings in recent years.

“I lost a couple of my guys over here,” he says, “a couple guys that were in our group session that we were mentoring. One in particular … he got whacked right here.”

He crosses Broadway into what he says is Bloods territory. At Cecile and Greenwood, the only people outside are an older couple walking with masks covering their faces.

Four people were shot at this corner April 3, almost a month after Kentucky reported its first COVID-19 coronavirus case and 10 days before the state’s death toll from the virus topped 100.

Read more: She couldn't be with her dying son or watch his burial. This is gun violence in a pandemic

Those four people had been on the radar of staff at No More Red Dots, the nonprofit Woods co-founded nine years ago with the goal of tamping down gun violence by intervening in neighborhood conflicts and gang beefs before they escalate.

That work has not slowed despite the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Louisville is on pace to see one of its worst years of gun violence in recent memory: 30 people dead through mid-April, 95 more wounded.

The city's worst year on record was 2016: 504 shootings, 118 of which were fatal.

Forty-four of this year's shootings took place after the city and state put into place the first coronavirus-related orders.

“Street-level violence cares nothing about COVID-19,” Woods said.

So, Woods and his small team have had to adapt somewhat to social distancing rules while taking on a new challenge: Educating the public on how to keep themselves safe from the virus.

They still drive around neighborhoods hit hard by gun violence, just as Woods did Saturday, looking for people they know are part of a gang or involved in the latest conflict.

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But they’re also using those moments to hand out stacks of fliers with health department tips on how to stop the virus’s spread.

Every conversation from 6 feet away is a chance to talk about why residents in these communities should be particularly concerned about this outbreak.

“We’ve got two public health issues going on at the same time,” Woods said. “The difficulty is getting people to understand this virus is just as deadly.”

Hospital interventions continue 

Inside University of Louisville Hospital's trauma center, community health workers wearing protective medical gear continue their attempts to disrupt gun violence by connecting with wounded patients before they're discharged.

One of their first jobs in that role is to de-escalate tension, said Annabelle Pike, the hospital's injury prevention manager. 

In the previrus world, that usually meant talking with the family members who came to visit their wounded loved ones. 

Those bedside visitors are gone for now, Pike said. "But that doesn't mean people aren't congregating outside the hospital, so they go out to the parking lot to help disperse crowds and explain what's going on."

Coronavirus tracker:How many coronavirus cases are in Kentucky? Where are they?

Community health workers are now looking to find telehealth options for gunshot victims who might need counseling or some other form of mental health treatment, Pike said.

And they're also making more follow-up phone calls or text messages with patients after they're discharged since they can't visit them in person.

"Especially after an injury like this, you want a community and a family to come together around you," Pike said. "With the inability to do that, some of our patients do feel a bit more isolated."

Disparity in gun violence and the virus

The novel coronavirus, much like gun violence, has disproportionately affected communities of color in Louisville.

Black people make up about 24% of the city’s total population, but they account for roughly 31% of confirmed coronavirus cases and 33% of virus-related deaths, Mayor Greg Fischer said Friday. 

Similar disparities have been reported in Chicago, New York City and Milwaukee, according to an NPR report.

“We’re talking about the same kind of things — poverty, health-care availability — that were always playing into factors relevant to gun violence,” Woods said. “These are the same factors playing into issues of testing, the availability of testing and people’s mindsets about being tested.”

Read this:Kentuckians are going on a massive gun and ammo buying spree for 'fear of the unknown'

Young people have been among the hardest to reach, he said. Some don’t think they can catch the virus, or they don’t realize that ignoring social-distancing guidelines can put their family members at risk of contracting it.

"The biggest part we have to explain is how you can be a carrier and not be sick," Woods said.

"That’s for the ones who will listen. We’ve got another whole group of folks who don’t really pay attention to anything like that. They’re still operating on retaliation moves, on getting even, on upstart gang activity."

Jonathan Bullington is an investigative reporter. Reach him at: 502-582-4241; JBullington@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jrbullington. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.