



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- 371 Productions -- a Milwaukee-based production company is rolling out a new project aimed at bringing attention to gun violence and its impact on kids and families. The goal of the project is to spread the message that gun violence is everyone's problem. It's a message you'll hear loud and clear over the next two years.



Emily Forman is a producer working on the "Precious Lives Project."



The "Precious Lives Project" is two-year weekly public radio series (100 episodes, 3-5 minutes each) and community engagement campaign about gun violence and youth in Milwaukee.



The radio stories told as part of the project will treat the matter of gun violence with kids, both homicide and suicide, as a public health problem -- looking at the problem from multiple perspectives, hearing the voices of victims and shooters, learning about the weapon and its path, and discovering the environmental factors contributing to each child’s death.





"It's an opportunity to go beneath the surface and get to know the families affected."





"I try to bring listeners there and transport them to someone`s home, someone`s neighborhood. It's an opportunity to go beneath the surface and get to know the families affected," Forman said.



Five-year-old Laylah Petersen was shot and killed when bullets were fired into a home near 58th and Fairmount on November 6th. Petersen was sitting on her grandfather's lap. No one has been taken into custody in connection with Petersen's death.



The "Precious Lives Project" will include stories showcasing the impact of recent gun violence, as well as past gun violence -- like the case of nine-year-old Marcus Deback. He was shot in the head while he was playing on a playground in 1995, after bullets were fired during an argument over a playground basketball game.



"(It's an opportunity to) take listeners there to feel more connected to the community and blur some barriers, blur some boundaries. It's about evoking some emotion to get them to see this as a serious issue in Milwaukee," Forman said.

The aim of the sound-rich radio reports is to connect people, and to help everyone to realize gun violence is everyone's problem.

"If we talk to the victim, we can understand how that family is affected. If we talk to the shooter, what inspired you? What influences you to pick up a gun? What happened In your life that you made that decision? Get deeper in their lives to understand why this is happening," Forman said.


The "Precious Lives" series began Monday, January 12th and stories will begin Tuesday. The stories will air on WUWM 89.7 on Tuesdays and WNOV 860 AM Wednesdays around 10:45 a.m.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the "Precious Lives Project."