There is an epidemic of violence in Help Hope Live’s founding city of Philadelphia.

While recent years have seen a decline in homicides, Philadelphians are still suffering the effects of violence in our communities. Around 75% of shootings in Philadelphia are non-fatal. Survivors face an unprecedented journey to recovery and must find a new way to live their lives to the fullest.

According to a five-year study by Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the average cost of initial treatment for a non-fatal firearm injury was $34,837. This study also concluded that 16% of new injuries require additional hospital visits and incur nearly four times the medical costs, averaging more than $70,000 per patient. More than 3% of new firearm injuries result in paralysis, increasing first-year expenses to over $100,000. When taking into account that 60% of these injuries occur within the poorest communities of PA, we see how vital Help Hope Live can be for victims of violence in Philadelphia.