About a dozen people came to the Green Street Friends Meetinghouse
on 1/14/2018 to hear Victoria Greene talk about her work with the EMIR Healing
Center.
She founded the organization in memory of her son, Emir, who
was murdered on March 26, 1997. EMIR stands for “Every Murder Is Real.” They
provide support and counseling to families of murder victims in Philadelphia
and even beyond.
The Problem
There were 317 homicides in Philadelphia in 2017, the first
time since 2012 that the number has been over 300. Many of the murder victims
are young black men. Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the increase is
because of opioids, and the fact that the Police Department is down by 400
officers. There should be another 300 new officers by fall 2018 when the next
class graduates from the academy. There are also gangs in many areas of
Philadelphia.
Support Groups
EMIR Healing Center runs support groups for families of murder
victims. Friends from Green Street Meeting provide meals so that the families
can eat together from 6 to 6:30 pm. The meals enable people to get there
without having to worry about eating first. Having a meal together helps people
socialize and bond, which is a very important step in the healing process.
There are about 25 people per group. Over the course of a year, Green Street
Friends are providing something like 700 meals a year!
Friends from Green Street who want to help can sign up to
cook a meal, bring takeout food, or just donate money toward buying food for
the evening. If you do cook, please don’t use pork or nuts.
The process starts when, each week, EMIR gets a fax from the
Police Department with the list of homicides from the past week and contact
information for the next of kin. EMIR follows up with a letter and later a
phone call to invite them to participate in the support groups. Some people are
referred by other individuals or organizations in the community.
In the groups, EMIR teaches families about trauma: how to
recognize it; and how to cope with it in healthy ways. Frequently people who do
not recognize trauma end up coping in unhealthy ways. People can come back
again, too. Often the second year is hardest for people – the second Christmas
or birthday – when they realize it’s real, the person is never coming back.
The first two meetings of the groups are open to drop-ins,
but after that, no drop-ins are allowed. The group needs a chance to bond
together, and that rule helps them do that. Each time there are separate groups
for women, men, and teens and kids.
Intervening to
Prevent More Violence
EMIR has sometimes gone to individuals to prevent them from
retaliating with violence after a murder. Recently a family asked them to
intervene in a gang dispute in South Philly. They are looking at being
mediators.
At one point EMIR was part of a collaborative that applied
for grant funding. It would have included money to pay “interruptors” who are already
on street corners doing this work, for no pay. It did not work out for EMIR in
the end. There is a still a serious need for interruptors.
Public Policy
EMIR also has growing interest in public policy. First, the
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) the Victims Compensation Fund. The source of money
for this fund is fines paid by convicted criminals, not taxes. However, the
VOCA law excludes families of people accused of “causing their own demise.” If a
police report says the victim was committing a crime when killed, then the
family cannot get money from the fund. There is no process for judging whether
or not the police report is correct; and even if it were, why should the
families of the victim suffer?
EMIR has worked with attorney Angus Love on some cases. In
one of them, a father was upset that his son was accused of dealing drugs, when
he didn’t, and there was no evidence he did. They were able to get the office
in Harrisburg to overturn the initial decision. There may be a lawsuit in the
courts or a change in the law in the legislature.
In September, EMIR held a forum on gun violence. Families of
victims had the chance to be heard by public officials, including Congressperson
Dwight Evans, Commissioner Ross, several City Council members, and some state
legislators. EMIR has formed committees around illegal guns, education, and
housing.
Families who get involved with activism often find some
healing. It’s therapeutic because they may find some help for other people and
also work for the common good. This can especially be helpful when the
perpetrator of the murder isn’t caught. Less than half of murder cases in
Philadelphia are getting solved now, so there is a lack of closure for many
families.
Victoria’s Spiritual
Journey
Finally, Victoria spoke about her spiritual journey through
this work. Soon after she started EMIR, she organized conferences two years
apart. She had no experience doing this. Yet when she asked, people said yes.
And both were successful. She felt God was guiding her.
People ask Victoria how she can cope with the stories, so
similar to what she went through with her son, Emir. She said, “When I hear a family’s story, I am
with them. I’m holding their hands, listening to them. That’s God.”
She sees how fragile life is. When she felt suicidal after
Emir’s death, she heard his voice saying to her, “What? It’s bad enough I got
killed, now you’re going to go?” And she held on. Now she won’t hold grudges.
If someone is good, she’ll tell them. She added, “Because you never know if you’ll
see them again. Be authentic. Don’t take people for granted.”
That’s why Quakerism attracted her. She heard about
Spirit-led activism. She had never heard that anywhere before finding Quakers. Her
experience is definitely of Spirit-led activism.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
WITH EMIR HEALING CENTER:
·
Join Green Street’s brand-new Quaker Social Change Ministry group! We hope to have our first meeting to get organized on Feb. 19 (this is still TENTATIVE).
·
Work with EMIR on amending VOCA
·
Join one
of the committees formed after the September forum (education; stopping illegal
guns; or housing)
·
Volunteer to help with the annual fundraising concert, usually late in the year
·
Donate! If you do, you’ll multiply the impact of
our meeting’s annual gift to EMIR
·
Watch Victoria’s QuakerSpeak video and share it
with people you know: http://quakerspeak.com/every-murder-real/
