header logo
410-601-9355
hero-image

Red Desk Project

A call to action to prevent child homicide

The Red Desk Project

Guns are the #1 killer of children and the top form of suicide in the U.S. Center for Hope is working hard to change that through our comprehensive violence intervention and prevention programs and legislative advocacy.

 

Center for Hope’s Red Desk Project was created in 2021 as a public art campaign designed to build awareness of child fatalities in Baltimore and throughout Maryland due to gun violence and child abuse. With each desk, we remember the loss of these children’s lives, and we renew our commitment to reducing these tragedies.

Support Survivors of Homicide

Red Desk Project 2024

Now in its fourth year, the Red Desk Project will display dozens of desks at LifeBridge Health hospitals and facilities during the month of May in recognition of Trauma Awareness Month. With each red desk, we remember an innocent child’s life lost.

 

Community-based organizations, law-enforcement, and local and national leaders will join us at the end of May for a special conversation to strengthen our effort and broaden the support to effect change. As adults and caregivers, we must acknowledge that gun violence impacts all of us – our youth are most vulnerable. Growing up in fear of gun violence is not what we want for our children. They want change too. It is time to give them a voice.

By the Numbers

16

16 children were killed in Baltimore City by guns in 2023. 1

29.5%

29.5 percent of child fatalities in Baltimore City were found associated with child abuse or neglect between 2010-2019. 2

#1

Firearms are the #1 cause of death for children and teens (ages 1 to 19) in the United States. 3

19,000

Every year, 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence. 3

23

Every day, 23 children are shot in the United States. 3

!

The United States has more guns than citizens. 4

Sources: 1 - Baltimore City Child Fatality Review; 2 - Maryland Child Fatality Review, 2010-2019; 3 - Everytown; 4 - Brady United

Responding to Child Homicide: A Trauma-Informed Approach

  • The Red Desk Project highlights the immediate need to protect youth from gun violence. They deserve an opportunity to grow and thrive into the changemakers of our future.
  • Each child homicide significantly impacts not only surviving family members, but also friends, caregivers, and witnesses. Varying degrees of post-traumatic stress, anxiety and health issues linger long after a bullet is fired.
  • Each child homicide also affects surviving siblings, friends, and witnesses with varying degrees of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, health issues, and a dramatic increase in the likelihood that surviving parties become a perpetrator or a victim of future violence.

 

At Center for Hope, we provide wraparound services to ensure that those impacted by homicide are cared for and not forgotten. Clients receive case management, counseling and support through our community violence programs, including PAAVE, Kuji Youth Radio and DIVAS.

What You Can Do:

Learn how you can be the difference: