JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville saw an unusually high number of homicides in 2019. So far it’s on pace to shatter that number in 2020.
Through April 10 – the 101st day of the year – Jacksonville had recorded 50 homicides, most of which were the results of gunshots. That projects to about 180 if the pace continues throughout 2020, compared to a decade-high of 158 in 2019.
But the pace has been uneven during the first few months of 2020, and, coincidentally or not, a large proportion of homicides – 29 - have come since March 1, when coronavirus first presented itself in Florida.
Without any way to prove anything forensically, licensed mental health counselor Angela Hainsworth said of a possible correlation, “I think that’s definitely true.”
Hainsworth, who has practiced at North Florida Center for Counseling on Dean Road for 13 years, described a recent apparent trend.
“What I’ve been hearing from people that have been coming to see me is that they’re very stressed, they have a lot of increased anxiety, and also depression from reduced hours at work.” She added that her colleagues have reported similar scenarios about their patients.
“And that is probably directly due from a loss of work and the coronavirus,” she said.
Although many of the homicides in 2020 appear to be non-domestic and in some cases random, social activist Ben Frazier of the Northside Coalition also hinted that stresses caused both directly and indirectly by the coronavirus crisis might be a contributing factor.
“There may be a connection with regard to cabin fever and people’s mentality and emotional state,” Frazier said Saturday. “We cannot dismiss it and say that it has nothing to do with what’s going on.”
But Frazier, who rarely minces words addressing any kind of violence, wasn’t suggesting any excuse.
“What we’re seeing is an uptick … that we should not begin to accept as some type of new norm in our city, in our society,” he said. “We need to flatten the curve when it comes down to the violence that we are experiencing in our city due to gun violence in particular.”
Frazier specifically focused on the availability of so-called “chopper” guns – AK47s and others that have large magazine capacity – to youth.
“I do believe we should honestly ask the sheriff to give us his expert opinion on where all of these weapons are coming from, and how they’re getting in the hands of teenagers,” Frazier said.
Frazier founded the Northside Coalition, which focuses on social, racial and economic injustice, all of which have been around much longer than the coronavirus crisis. Most of his suggestions about solving violence are also not limited to recent events. Those suggestions include getting more non-profits involved in engaging people in social conflict. Also, more professional “boots on the ground,” as he puts it, to teach non-violent ways to resolve conflict. And, a media veteran himself, Frazier said the media needs to partner with the city with campaigns that might include public service announcements reminding people to “not shoot it out but to talk it out.”
Not to suggest that any of her clients would have even the most tangential tie to any actual crimes, Hainsworth continued on the possibility that the stresses she hears about might be at least thematically common among those involved in violence recently.
“Several parents have expressed to me that that has stressed out their marriage,” Hainsworth said, adding that those clients’ kids are suffering from feeling confined and a lack of routine social interaction.
“What they’re communicating to me is that they don’t know what the next one or two months is going to look like,” she said.
Hainsworth went on to suggest that people needing psychological support at low cost go to https://www.openpath.com/, where they can arrange an account inexpensively and access ongoing help with fees based on their income.
Frazier and Hainsworth offered some of their suggested remedies in different words and tones, but the ideas weren’t mutually exclusive whatsoever; in fact, they were quite complimentary.
“Put the gun down and stop jeopardizing the lives of innocent people,” Frazier said.
Hainsworth cautioned that, at a time when ‘social distancing’ has become another yet another catch phrase-turned-command, it is vital that people remain socially – especially spiritually – connected.
“I would say just seek out the people that are good support for you," Hainsworth said. "And let everyone know that you’re also there for them because often times people don’t say that to their loved ones."
“This is something that has really never happened in our time,” she reminded. “People are having to make adjustments, and this is going to be something we’re going to just have to get through together.”