Community Violence in Toronto - APRIL 2023

This qualitative study examines the context and circumstances of community violence, its impacts on youth, families, and communities, as well as pathways forward for intervention from the perspectives of people with lived experience of community violence and those working to address community violence in Toronto. [...] Community Violence in Toronto In discussing the nature of community violence in Toronto, participants moved between discussions of concrete examples of the forms of community violence that they felt were common in the city to larger systemic issues that they believed were underlying causes and/or contributing to the problem of violence. [...] It’s the number, it’s like it just continues to pile and pile and pile and the exposure is just over and over and over.” (Subject Matter Expert) Community Violence in Toronto 5 For this participant, the visibility of stories on shootings meant that ‘all these other milestones of violent points were missed,’ along with the ongoing reminders of violence and its cumulative impact. [...] Participants reflected on the challenges and the opportunities that exist for successful interventions in terms of the content areas and need for programs, and the structure of that programming, highlighting the need to include residents and local agencies. [...] Recognition of the role of the social determinants of health, and the value of a public health approach to community violence emerged as strong discussion points here, along with calls to build a culture of positive mental health and resilience.