Borough President Gibson launches Gun Violence Awareness Month, highlights youth job fair

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson on Tuesday kicked off Gun Violence Awareness Month at Lou Gehrig Plaza, urging local leaders and residents to deepen outreach to young people as the city moves into the summer months.

"What are we going to do to prevent the next act of violence, the next shooting, the next homicide, the next stabbing?" Gibson asked attendees, calling for more engagement with young people and for opening "doors of opportunity." Gibson also hosted a youth job fair at Borough Hall to connect young people with employment and workforce resources.

The borough president said the campaign is timed in June because summer historically brings an "uptick in gun violence" when young people are spending more time in the community. "Gun Violence Awareness Month is to basically set it off letting keeping everyone aware and starting to let everyone know about all of the services, resources, events that we have going on in the entire summer so that our youth are engaged," Gibson said.

Organizers and community leaders emphasized outreach, education and support as strategies to prevent violence before it begins. "Part of this work is including young people, and part of this work is opening doors of opportunity," Gibson said, summing up the event’s focus on employment, programming and sustained engagement.

Those gathered repeated the event’s slogan—"Safe Summer 2026"—and organizers stressed that combating gun violence requires continued attention beyond a single day of events. The borough president signaled ongoing summer programming and resource referrals but did not announce a detailed schedule for follow-up events.

Reporting for BronxNet, Ava McEntee.