Reporting on gun violence often focuses on youth or young adults, but rarely does it center on their voices and perspectives. What strategies could emerge if we surveyed the oft-misrepresented young adults themselves? How could hearing from young adults contribute to community-led strategies to reduce shootings and get more guns off the street?

The Urban Institute, one of the nation’s leading social science and economic research organizations, explores these questions in a survey of young adults in four Chicago neighborhoods experiencing high rates of gun violence: Austin, Auburn-Gresham, Englewood, and North Lawndale.

With the help of community partners, researchers conducted in-person interviews with 345 young adults in November 2017 and February 2018. Nancy La Vigne and Jocelyn Fontaine present the survey's findings for the first time at this Public Newsroom.