Adrianne House is pushing for an end to gun violence after six lives were lost in a span of 72 hours in San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO — After hearing from six grieving families in the past few days, an anti-violence advocate living in east San Antonio is pleading for the shooting to stop.
“Six people dead from gun violence in 72 hours,” said Adrianne House, specifying the scope of the turmoil. “That we know of so far.”
House said the toll is probably higher in the community; she was just speaking about people she had personal contact with after the losses.
“This is the trauma of the community,” House said. “The total keeps going up. There are eight, if not more, total.”
“We have so many community organizations, so many advocates, including myself. So you have to start questioning yourself and asking, ‘What are we doing?'”
House said it’s a question everyone should be asking.
While the nonprofit she works for, San Antonio Fighting Back, is based in east San Antonio, House said the violence knows no borders.
“There’s a disconnection somewhere with youth in general,” she says. “It’s not just east-side youth, west-side youth, south side—it’s youth in general. There’s a disconnect, but we’re at the point where they just have no regard for life.”
With years of experience in helping people cope with trauma, House said the level of violence recently has left her shaken. She compares the damage left to people, cars and homes to Swiss cheese—where the devastation is widespread.
“These killings are not just simple gunshot here. These killings are overboard, overkill,” she added.
House said the impact of the shootings extends far beyond the person who gets shot, reaching family, friends, even the medics and police officers who are dealing with carnage on a daily basis.
“They have to keep going to these scenes that’s so traumatic, so then all of a sudden you have all this mental health issue going on. What do we do?”
House said one possible solution is to invite a fresh set of voices to the conversation.
Specifically, “younger voices.”
“We need to hear from the next generation because, ultimately, this is who we pass it to. But if the next generation is not here, then what are we left with?” House said. “We’re gonna be left with a dying community, a community that’s never gonna be self-sustainable, a generation that’s never gonna be able to understand what life, what quality of life, is all about because right now.”
House said young people need a safe space where they can feel comfortable joining the effort for peace.
“We love you. We want to be here to help. We don’t know what to do. If you’re not coming to us, talking to us and explaining to us and trying to help us to help you,” House said. “There’s so much more to life!”
Although dealing with constant grief is taxing, House said it’s a fight she won’t quit.
“A good friend of mine said last night, even though she is mourning, she told me, ‘Adrianne, if nobody speaks out, then they win. If you stop what you’re doing, they win,’ and I won’t have that,” House said.
House said that, in order to move the conversation forward, she is planning an event for Juneteenth. It’s set for Thursday, June 19.
It’ll be a simple itinerary that she hopes yields meaningful ripple effects.
“I decided what I was going to do was just ask people to walk with me. That’s going to be my Juneteenth theme: Walk with me. That’s it,” House said. “I’m going to walk from Pittman Sullivan Park all the way down to Martin Luther King Park and we’re just going to walk.”
“I’m going to tell young people, ‘You don’t even have to talk. Just walk. That’s it.’ Maybe by the time we get to the end, we can figure it out. You know, we’ll sit and talk together.”
House said she envisions people being able to take peace home with them.
“That’s what we’re going to do after that, go home to the families and love on them. Go spend time with your families. But for two hours, let’s just walk,” House said.
The scourge of gun violence is always close to her heart. House’s son was paralyzed in a 2017 drive-by attack when he was just 21 years old.
The college student was home for a visit when he gave a friend a ride and nearly died in an unprovoked shooting.