Frustrated

So there was a quadruple homicide in Boston last night. So I don't live in Boston, but I work here, and the first ten years of my life were spent in a suburb pretty close to the city and the other 13 have been spent a little farther away, but if I were to ever identify with a city BOSTON IS IT - IT'S THE MOTHERLAND and I love it so much and I know that will never change. So a quadruple homicide, while it didn't happen in my back yard, is really disturbing, because I want Boston to be the best it can be, and it's just not doing that right now. That brings murders up to 71 this year, and at the rate we've been going lately, it will probably rise in the 3 weeks we have left. This is a higher murder rate than we've seen in a decade. A WHOLE DECADE! I remember the late 80s. It seemed like someone was murdered every single night. My mom would have the morning news on while she was getting us ready for the bus and every morning Jim Boyd from WCVB would tell us that someone had been shot or stabbed the night before. All of the sudden, things started changing....Over the course of 9 years, the murder rate plummeted, from 152 in 1990 to 31 in 99! THIRTY ONE! And some how in the course of 6 years, we've started to climb the ladder again. Why? I don't get it. Our mayor is the same. Our police commissioner is fairly new, but seems to be doing an ok job. There are initiatives to stop violence in "problem" neighborhoods, led by community leaders and ministers. The quadruple homicide occured next door to a Reverend that's been leading these anti-violence initiatives! What is going on here? And why are so many young people involved. It always seems like young people are the ones shooting at each other, killing each other. Have the churches become less involved? Are there less after school programs? Are there too few police? Are people turning a blind eye? I've been reading article after article trying to figure it out. I've read that the BPD suck and aren't doing their job...there aren't enough police...the churches and youth coalitions are fragmented or disbanded...the high school dropout rate is high and illegal firearms are easily accessible to deal for money because droupouts can't find gainful employment...budget cuts...churches and coalitions competing for money that has been poured into the city's crime stopping initiatives...small gangs of repeat offenders...personal vendettas...sense of hopelessness among teens and young adults....the attitude "he has a gun, so I need to have one"...all of this makes sense I guess.....
I hate feeling helpless. I hate that kids think they don't have options besides violence. I hate it and it's driving me crazy and I don't know what to do and I want to make it stop but I don't even know where to begin....I just want this Boston to be the best Boston, because I hear stories of how it was back in it's heyday, and its slow decline throughout the 70' and 80's. I remember it at one of its worst time and have witnessed "The Boston Miracle" and now work in the city, loving it more than I ever have. Something needs to be done. I am tired of all of this. I can't imagine how victim's families and friends must feel. They must be exhausted.

(pic: mit.edu)