In 2010, 70 school-age children from Chicago were killed by gunfire and more than 600 were wounded, according to the Chicago Police Department. Youth violence is widespread, and is the second leading cause of death nationally for people between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. These statistics are heart-wrenching, and the pain and suffering is felt profoundly by families and the wider community. The Do the Write Thing (DtWT) challenge is a creative and constructive program aimed at squarely addressing the scourge of youth violence.
