BOSTON — The Boston City Council is recognizing Nov. 20 through Dec. 20 as National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month in the city, honoring people, families and communities affected by homicide, the council said Friday.

The resolution also supports establishing a national version of the observance at the federal level to raise awareness and improve access to support services for survivors, according to the council.

The resolution describes gun violence as a national public health crisis. It says about 20,000 homicides occur in the United States each year and that at least 10 family members are left to cope with each loss, producing about 200,000 new survivors of homicide victims a year. Those affected include parents, siblings, children, spouses, partners, friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers and whole communities, the resolution says.

According to the resolution, homicide is the leading cause of death among Black Americans ages 12 to 19 and the second leading cause of death for teenagers nationwide. It says nearly one in four Black and Latino adults report having lost a loved one to a gun homicide, and that more than half of women who are homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.

The resolution calls for surviving family members to receive compassionate, coordinated and consistent support, both immediately after a death and in the months and years that follow, and for families to be able to remember those they lost regardless of the circumstances of their deaths.

It also recognizes survivors who use their experiences to shape public policy and push for safer communities, and says survivors, advocates and service providers are working together on community-based responses to homicide.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency or political press release and published by The New England Signal. Why we use AI for stories like this one.