The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia hosted an event last week to support With One Voice, a new coalition of faith leaders who are opposed to gun violence.

Carla Reyes, partnerships coordinator for Cease Fire PA, and Lashira Council, executive director of Chester Community Coalition, addressed a gathering of approximately 25 people in the Student Multi-Purpose Hall on November 13.

They shared information about gun violence in Pennsylvania and urged audience members to join their organizations as well as With One Voice.

According to data compiled from 2018 to 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1,600 Pennsylvanians die each year from gun violence, including mass shootings, suicide, and domestic violence.

Jaelyn Watkins and Daniel Ampofo, student interns with the Franciscan Justice Circle, shared their stories of heartbreaking loss.

Reyes told the group that Cease Fire PA invests in violence prevention campaigns and holds elected officials accountable for the votes they cast and legislation they draft. The organization is committed to ending firearm related deaths and injuries by supporting policies including: 

• Ample funding for Community Violence Intervention programs
• Safe storage practices that require firearm owners to secure their guns
• Banning ghost guns and machine gun converters
• Enabling Extreme Risk Protection Orders to temporarily restrict access to firearms
• Closing the loophole in PA’s background check system

Council, a licensed professional counselor, explained that the Chester Community Coalition supports communities affected by gun violence by providing tools for coping with and processing trauma as well as prevention and crisis response services.

The event began with a welcome from Sr. Kathy Dougherty, vice president for mission and ministry, and an interdenominational prayer service that featured many recent victims of gun violence.