During a particularly violent week in Connecticut’s capital city, Andrew Woods was among a small number of anti-violence workers who rushed in to help victims’ families, offering condolences and referrals to services while trying to discourage retaliation.
Three people were killed and about a dozen others injured in shootings in Hartford over the week that began in late May — a large number in a small city of about 120,000 people, which left local anti-violence groups reeling.
The group that Woods leads, Hartford Communities That Care, has eight anti-violence workers. With more funding, he said he would quadruple that number to allow employees to work in shifts instead of being on call around the clock.
“We’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of shootings and then the follow-up that is involved in that,” he said. “We’re on call 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s unsustainable to have people working these kinds of hours.”