Gun violence survivors are begging for resources. Would this bill help them?

Every day, with the inevitability of a sunrise, more than 300 Americans are shot. Many of those lucky enough to survive will face uncertain recoveries, and can be saddled with lifelong disabilities. Like sailors lost at sea, squinting for a hint of land, they search desperately for tools that can help them eke out an existence.

Functional wheelchairs.

Safe, accessible housing.

Some way of sorting through the scattered federal, state, and local government programs that might offer assistance, if only their rules were easy to decipher.

» READ MORE: Shot and Forgotten: shooting victims face lifelong disabilities and financial burdens

The ranks of survivors who are forced to solve these puzzles continue to swell, in rural towns and big cities alike. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence estimates that more than 114,000 people are shot in the U.S. every year. In 2020, at least 2,240 people were shot in Philadelphia; as of Feb. 3, the city has already recorded 202 shootings, 40 of which have been fatal.

To address the often-overlooked plight of disabled victims and their families, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans said earlier this week — Gun Violence Survivors Week — that they will soon introduce legislation to create a federal advisory council that would be tasked with making it easier for victims to find and obtain sorely needed assistance.

This marks the second time that Casey and Evans have cosponsored the Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act, which was crafted in response to a 2018 Inquirer report that spotlighted the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of paralyzed gun violence victims.

The lawmakers’ first attempt at advancing the legislation, in 2019, stalled; not a single Republican member of Congress agreed to cosponsor.

“Every bill related to any kind of gun violence was really shut down the last six years with [then-Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell,” Casey said.

Democrats now control the House and the Senate — and the White House, with President Biden ensconced in the Oval Office. Casey and Evans are optimistic that their legislation will find a smoother path this time around, either as a stand-alone bill, or attached to a larger piece of legislation.

“I’m not opposed to exploring other options, if we keep running into a roadblock,” Casey said. “There may be things that the Biden administration can do through an executive action.”

» READ MORE: Under Fire: In 8,500 shootings since 2015 in Philadelphia, suspects have been convicted in just 9%.

Casey and Evans expect that Biden — who visited Evans’ district in Northwest Philadelphia several days before the November election — will be eager to tackle gun violence. As a candidate, Biden outlined an array of steps he’d take, including pushing for an assault weapons ban and universal background checks.

“This is a real issue about people who have been hurt across the country. It’s not just Philadelphia,” Evans said. “When do we have a chance to look out for the victims?”

Disabled survivors in Philadelphia long ago grew accustomed to feeling forgotten and having to scrounge for benefits. The Department of Public Health has found that survivors face an average of $46,632 in medical costs; some have had to turn to online fund-raisers to help them afford new wheelchairs or handicapped-accessible housing.

Others found a trickle of hope in the unlikeliest of places: the basement of Temple University Hospital, where a handful of paralyzed men and women formed a support group two years ago, after realizing no such resource existed anywhere else.

One of those survivors, Jalil Frazier, shared his personal anguish during a City Hall hearing last February. Frazier was shot and paralyzed in Philadelphia in 2018, while he protected three children during a robbery at a barbershop.

“When I first came home, I was told I was going to get a ramp and all this stuff. I came home and I didn’t get anything,” Frazier told a roomful of politicians who had often offered what amounted to empty promises about helping people like him.

“I was calling my brother to come help me get out of the house. I had a friend carry me. I was sleeping in the living room because I couldn’t get upstairs.

“How long are we supposed to wait?”

» READ MORE: Philly police now take two-thirds of gunshot victims to the ER, and that saves lives, Penn study finds

During that same hearing, Jaleel King also testified. In 1984, he was just 8 when he was shot by a South Philadelphia man who was angry that neighborhood kids were setting off fireworks, and tried to quiet them with a sawed-off shotgun.

Asked if there were available services for survivors like him, King’s answer was unequivocal: “No.”

“There’s never been help, and if there is help, you have to jump through so many hoops that you get exhausted and give up. So, the answer is no.”

The advisory council created by Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act would require officials from federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to identify — with input from victims and their caregivers — the myriad needs that victims struggle to meet, from housing and transportation to education and employment.

» READ MORE: Philly’s violent year: Nearly 500 people were killed and more than 2,200 shot in 2020

The council would also have to compile a congressional report on their findings, including gaps in the government safety net.

King, when told about the council’s intended mission to right so many systemic wrongs, expressed cautious curiosity. Would it really improve the daily lives of people living with catastrophic gunshot injuries, or just create another layer of bureaucracy for them to navigate?

“If I’m being honest I feel like a lot of things have changed, some things for the better and some things for the worse,” he said. “Realistically, trying to find resources is still like trying to find a needle in a haystack — and even then, there is only so much available.”