Hear their voices: Survivors of gun violence tell their stories in forum tonight

A discussion of the toll of gun violence and how to solve the problem will be featured here beginning at 6 p.m. tonight.

The forum, sponsored by Fulton Bank, will take place at Nativity School of Harrisburg, 2101 N. Fifth St., and will be live-streamed here, via PennLive’s Facebook page.

The forum, “Hear Their Voices: A tribute to survivors of gun violence,” follows a special report published last week in which PennLive told the stories of nine people who survived gunshot wounds, and the impact those wounds had on individuals, families and their community.

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More than 800 people have been wounded in non-fatal shootings in Harrisburg over the past decade.

During the forum, you’ll hear from some of those survivors, including Jawon Chisholm, who was 15 with dreams of becoming a football player when he was shot in the foot in 2005.

“My foot was like a jigsaw puzzle when it happened because it was a shotgun blast. No water, no liquids, no food, all medicines. My lips are cracking, I’m using the bathroom through a catheter, I’m constipated,” Chisholm told PennLive. “To endure that as a 15-year-old kid is kind of what makes me [who I am] today.”

Join PennLive and its community partners — Heeding God’s Call; Dauphin County Department of Children & Youth; World Affairs Council of Harrisburg; The Civic Club of Harrisburg; and Breaking the Chainz — in taking the next step to talk about the cost of gun violence and what the people of Harrisburg can to address the problem.