“If poverty is a disease that infects an entire community in the form of unemployment and violence, failing schools and broken homes, then we can’t just treat those symptoms in isolation. We have to heal that entire community. And we have to focus on what actually works.”
President Barack Obama
Who is The Urban Advocate®
Established in 2015, The Urban Advocate® is a community-driven collaborative actively reducing the impact of social determinants on gun-related violence through a public health approach.
Acts of gun-related violence are chronically under-categorized and responded to. We are striving to be THE STANDARD for reducing gun-related violence and crafting solutions in Atlanta. The landscape has shifted, the partners have shifted, but the needs remain unmet and our commitment is unwavering.
We are a locally advised collaborative that actively reduces the impact of gun-related violence by cultivating community care as our response to trauma, centering restorative justice, and leading strategic approaches to re-connect our neighborhoods.
We use a public health approach to target 3 key focus areas:
Cultivating community care
Community care is how we respond to trauma from gun-related violence in our community.
Centering restorative justice
We support individuals and communities in restoring & repairing harm after an incident of gun-related violence.
Re-connecting our neighborhoods
We reclaim community spaces that have been isolated from use after acts of gun-related violence.
Investing in community is NEVER a bad idea
The tools to solve many of the issues we face are locked in our neighborhoods. We see an Atlanta with reduced equity gaps, spaces for all, and the unique culture of Atlanta thriving.
The Summer Solstice Fund supports neighborhood advocacy through resident voice using augmented reality; reclaiming the heart of our community from gun-related violence & defining safety for our community. With your support, we will expand our advocacy and reclaim our neighborhood by adding augmented reality to the Guns Down Mechanicsville Mural.
In the news
Improving community safety through public health strategies
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Neighbors rally for change after 2 killed, 4 injured in Atlanta park shooting
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mechanicsville to get first-ever historic sites study
Saporta Report