{"id":113167,"date":"2025-11-07T15:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=113167"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:31:14","slug":"113167","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=113167","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

How Richmond Is Rewriting the Story of Gun Violence \u2014 One Student at a Time<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cThere is no public safety without guns. If guns didn\u2019t exist, yes,\u201d said\u00a0Ra-Twoine Fields<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cBut we live in America, where there are more guns than people. So no, there is no public safety without guns. What we can do is learn how to manage it, how to live with it responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fields, a firearms instructor, armed security guard, and PhD student at Saybrook University is also the founder of\u00a0The Holistic Agency<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Crenius<\/a><\/strong>, two initiatives linking creative expression, public safety, and community healing.\u00a0Crenius<\/em>\u00a0channels art into civic engagement;\u00a0The Holistic Agency<\/em>\u00a0takes a culturally informed approach to\u00a0defensive, medical, and mental-health training, treating self-protection and wellness as parts of the same system.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t speak for shock value. This is the foundation of his work: teaching young people not to fear the world they live in, but to survive it safely.<\/p>\n

Fields helps lead\u00a0Control the Narrative<\/a><\/strong>, his philosophy for harm reduction and violence prevention in Richmond. The approach is rooted in\u00a0community-violence intervention (CVI)<\/strong>\u00a0meeting those most at risk where they are, interrupting retaliation, and connecting them to counseling, job training, and other supports. He\u2019s adapted those principles locally through\u00a0The Holistic Agency\u2019s Weapons Program<\/strong>, a five-week course for teens in Henrico County and Richmond who have already encountered the justice system.<\/p>\n

The goal isn\u2019t punishment. It\u2019s understanding\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0they carry and helping them imagine a life where they don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnything Can Happen to Anybody\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of those students is\u00a0A<\/em>, a Richmond high-schooler who joined the program after a gun charge. When I asked why he carried, his answer came without hesitation: \u201cAnything can happen to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was seven when his father was shot and killed. Since then, guns have been part of the landscape, familiar, visible, and, in his words, \u201cjust around.\u201d For\u00a0A<\/em>, carrying wasn\u2019t about showing off; it was about surviving. \u201cYou just feel like you\u2019re on your own,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why people carry.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his neighborhood, access to guns is effortless. \u201cYeah, they\u2019re easy to get,\u201d he said. Violence isn\u2019t shocking anymore, it\u2019s background noise. \u201cIt happens a lot,\u201d he told me. \u201cPeople lose people all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the court-mandated classes, he said he started to think differently about what safety really means, and how much risk comes with trying to protect yourself in a city where violence feels ordinary. The sessions covered not just firearms but therapy, employment training, and conflict management, the kinds of tools that suggest another way forward.<\/p>\n

Fields said that shift is exactly what the program is built for. \u201cMost of these youth are carrying because of safety and survival,\u201d he told me. \u201cWe remove our own bias and really align with them through that component building up their skills in how they approach their individual and relational safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Control the Narrative<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fields\u2019 five-week harm-reduction course,\u00a0Control the Narrative<\/strong>, meets twice a week in Richmond and Henrico County. It combines firearm-safety instruction with counseling, therapy referrals, and what he calls\u00a0wraparound services<\/em>. Participants learn to de-escalate conflict, practice \u201cStop the Bleed\u201d first aid, and unpack how social media and image can fuel violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing we centralize to our harm-reduction approach,\u201d Fields said, \u201cis\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0these youth are carrying firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy grows out of a broader model known as\u00a0Community Violence Intervention<\/strong>\u00a0(CVI), a public-health framework that treats gun violence as a preventable epidemic rather than an inevitable fact of life. CVI programs work by interrupting cycles of retaliation, focusing on those most at risk, and connecting them to counseling, job training, and housing assistance. The goal isn\u2019t simply to stop one shooting, but to change the conditions that make the next one likely.<\/p>\n

Across the country, this approach has shown measurable success. Programs in New York\u2019s South Bronx and Richmond, California, have seen gun deaths and assaults drop by more than forty percent. Fields has adapted those same principles for Central Virginia, blending them with culturally informed mentorship and certified firearm education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of conditions that drive gun violence, poor environmental structures, lack of resources, systemic racism, inequities,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when we\u2019re thinking about these youth positioned within that environment, most of them are having it because of safety and survival, and that drives their decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Fields, the real goal is literacy, teaching young people to think safely, not just act safely. \u201cWe build up their skills in how they approach their individual and relational safety,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat\u2019s the part people overlook.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding the Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fields said one of the biggest challenges is separating the firearm itself from the culture that surrounds it. \u201cIt\u2019s romanticized,\u201d he said. \u201cThrough music, through movies, through social media. That\u2019s why we talk about brand identity, what image are you putting out there? What\u2019s it say about your goals?\u201d<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t tell his students to reject gun culture; he teaches them to navigate it. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with the tool,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s how you use it, how you represent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the program, that means unpacking the influence of music videos, social media clout, and peer validation, all the symbols that shape what safety and success look like for young people. \u201cA lot of these youth feel like they have to show they\u2019re successful, even when they\u2019re not,\u201d he explained. \u201cI can have no food in my refrigerator, but as long as I\u2019m outside smoking and have on the newest pair of Jordans, then I\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of condemning that mindset, Fields uses it as an entry point. \u201cWe\u2019re not here to tell them they\u2019re wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to listen, to help them understand what those choices mean and give them better options.\u201d<\/p>\n

He practices what he teaches. \u201cI carry a firearm daily,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you\u2019re not going to see videos of me flashing it on Instagram. You can be into the culture without it being tainted.\u201d<\/p>\n

That distinction, between glorifying the weapon and respecting it, is what he hopes will reshape the next generation\u2019s understanding of safety. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to demystify this idea of protection,\u201d he said, \u201cand build a culture that values responsibility as much as it values survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Research-Backed Model<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fields\u2019 academic work and community work are one and the same. \u201cMy dissertation is focusing on exploring harm-reduction approaches to gun violence reduction and prevention,\u201d he said. \u201cI was able to realize that there were gaps in programming, specifically for the most at-risk population, African American male youth ages about 12 to 21, concentrated between 14 and 18. There wasn\u2019t a lot of explicit curriculum centralizing the\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 why these youth are carrying firearms, and pragmatic interventions to actually help them exist in their realities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He works at the program to answer that question and then built his research around measuring its results. \u201cWith my dissertation now, it\u2019s exploring and doing a program evaluation in Henrico County and now in Richmond,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re using Richmond as a control group and doing a secondary data analysis to look at the recidivism rates and see if the program is actually helping to reduce those rates for youth getting new weapons offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The early results are promising. \u201cWe\u2019ve only had about a six-percent recidivism rate over three years,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not perfect, but for a population facing firearm charges, it\u2019s progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s quick to clarify that the program isn\u2019t about prohibition, it\u2019s about prevention through education. \u201cYou can\u2019t stop people from carrying,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you can help them carry safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

That pragmatic focus has drawn interest from the local courts and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, as well as from community partners like the\u00a0St. Luke Legacy Center<\/strong><\/a>, where sessions are held. Participants also train at\u00a0Dominion Shooting Range<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and other facilities, learning how to apply firearm literacy, situational awareness, and medical response in real-world settings.<\/p>\n

Safety, Survival, and the System<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fields describes the youth he works with as moving between two sets of rules, the street code and the law, each carrying its own definition of safety. \u201cThe street says protect yourself at all costs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe law gives you that right, but when, and how? We help them understand both.\u201d<\/p>\n

That conversation, he explained, often starts with safety but quickly turns to survival, and economics. \u201cOutside of the immediate point of safety, the next thing they\u2019re concerned about is economics,\u201d Fields said. \u201cA lot of these youth, they like nicer things. Within African American culture, unfortunately, I have to outwardly present that I\u2019m successful, no matter the lack of my success. I can have no food in my refrigerator, but as long as I\u2019m outside smoking and have on the newest pair of Jordans, then I\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sees that pressure, the need to look successful when opportunity is scarce, as another form of harm that his program can help address. \u201cWe\u2019re creating connections between firearms and employment opportunities,\u201d he said. \u201cHelping youth become certified basic firearm instructors, armed security guards, even helping them get their concealed-carry permits when they turn 21. All of these things reduce their chances of criminality and of being engaged with law enforcement negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those pathways also build practical skills. \u201cWe\u2019re teaching hard and soft skills,\u201d he explained. \u201cHard skills like how to manipulate a firearm or stop the bleed in a crisis. Soft skills like threat assessment, unburying grief, and conflict management, actually understanding how to manage conflict and not just use the firearm as a first or second or even third option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the program aims to help participants navigate that tension between self-protection and legality. \u201cThe street says you need to carry for protection and safety,\u201d Fields said. \u201cThe law also gives you that right. So how can you do both? The street says protect yourself at all costs, but the law gives you a right to use deadly force, but when, how, why?\u201d<\/p>\n

That middle ground, the space between survival and accountability, is where Fields believes harm reduction becomes real. \u201cWe know they\u2019re going to carry,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we teach them to do it legally, sensibly, accountably, and responsibly, not only for themselves, but for their entire community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living With Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For him, harm reduction isn\u2019t about denying that truth, it\u2019s about finding a way to live within it. \u201cWe have to consider how to manage public safety and create it and sustain it, with the firearms still there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A<\/em>\u00a0is still in school, still trying to find a path out of the cycle that took his father. \u201cI know more now,\u201d he said. \u201cI know what it means to own something like that, and what can happen if you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d Fields said. \u201cThat\u2019s what this is about. We\u2019re not getting rid of the guns, so we better start teaching people how to live with them, and with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Richmond, that may be the closest thing to public safety we can build.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Richmond Is Rewriting the Story of Gun Violence \u2014 One Student at a Time \u201c\u201cThere is no public safety without guns. If guns didn\u2019t exist, yes,\u201d said\u00a0Ra-Twoine Fields. \u201cBut we live in America, where there are more guns than people. So no, there is no public safety without guns. What we can do is … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,8,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-rkba","category-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113168,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113167\/revisions\/113168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}