Solutions

Changemakers

Across The Trace, we regularly feature changemakers who are making a difference in their communities when it comes to reducing gun violence. Whether published via our solutions newsletter, The Trajectory, our Ricochet series, or our local and national coverage, these stories seek to amplify the voices of those who are combatting gun violence from the ground up.

Community Violence

A Pastor Forgave the Young Shooter Who Killed His Son. Now, He Helps Others Do the Same.

The Reverend Christobal Kimmenez has joined others in calling for greater services for survivors of crime and the formerly incarcerated, including restorative justice.

Mensah M. Dean

More reporting on solutions

The Trajectory

Our biweekly newsletter features existing and emerging responses to the gun violence crisis.

Support

The Trace’s Changemakers series is funded in part by a grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation. Here are our policies on editorial independence and donor transparency.

This Researcher Is Changing How Rural Gunshot Victims Access Care

Public Health

This Researcher Is Changing How Rural Gunshot Victims Access Care

Nakita Lovelady grew up in an Arkansas county with some of the highest rates of gun homicide in the nation. Now, she's using her public health background to spread resources statewide.

Fairriona Magee
They Survived the Highland Park Mass Shooting. It Opened Their Eyes.

Community Violence

They Survived the Highland Park Mass Shooting. It Opened Their Eyes.

The shooting in an affluent area exposed its survivors to the gun violence that many Chicagoans face daily. Two years after living through gunfire, they reflect on what they’ve learned — and how they’re trying to help.

Rita Oceguera
Losing Her Daughter to Gunfire Left Her Inconsolable. A Trauma Recovery Center Saved Her Life.

Public Health

Losing Her Daughter to Gunfire Left Her Inconsolable. A Trauma Recovery Center Saved Her Life.

After Alexis Jackson witnessed her daughter’s shooting, she found unexpected support among trauma survivors and was inspired to form her own Cleveland collective for victims of gun violence.

Fairriona Magee
Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Guns

Gun Safety

Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Guns

Public health messaging once convinced young people to buckle up and stop smoking. In the TikTok era, a new set of activists is clarifying the dangers posed by firearms.

Katie Worth
An Emerging Group of Researchers Is Changing Our Understanding of Gun Violence

Public Health

An Emerging Group of Researchers Is Changing Our Understanding of Gun Violence

The Black and Brown Collective was formed to address inequities in the gun violence research community. Its diversity is reflected in its work — and is strengthening the field itself.

Fairriona Magee
Gary, Indiana, Begins to See Fewer Homicides as Community Leaders Band Together

Community Violence

Gary, Indiana, Begins to See Fewer Homicides as Community Leaders Band Together

Residents are challenging the city's decades-long reputation for violence as new programs show encouraging results.

Maddy Franklin, Jenae Barnes, and Javonte Anderson
Storing Guns Safely Could Save Lives. Why Aren’t Americans Listening?

Public Health

Storing Guns Safely Could Save Lives. Why Aren’t Americans Listening?

Michael D. Anestis has been studying firearm death for nearly 15 years. In an interview with The Trace, he said it's time to change the narrative on risks.

Fairriona Magee
For Gun Violence Survivors, Winter Can Be Isolating — and Poignant

Community Violence

For Gun Violence Survivors, Winter Can Be Isolating — and Poignant

Mothers in Chicago talk about navigating grief in a dark season and turning to each other for support as they memorialize their children.

Rita Oceguera

Gun violence journalism that informs and empowers.

Changemakers

A Pastor Forgave the Young Shooter Who Killed His Son. Now, He Helps Others Do the Same.

More reporting on solutions

The Trajectory

Support

This Researcher Is Changing How Rural Gunshot Victims Access Care

They Survived the Highland Park Mass Shooting. It Opened Their Eyes.

Losing Her Daughter to Gunfire Left Her Inconsolable. A Trauma Recovery Center Saved Her Life.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Guns

An Emerging Group of Researchers Is Changing Our Understanding of Gun Violence

Gary, Indiana, Begins to See Fewer Homicides as Community Leaders Band Together

Storing Guns Safely Could Save Lives. Why Aren’t Americans Listening?

For Gun Violence Survivors, Winter Can Be Isolating — and Poignant