Corniki Bornds

Dec 9, 2024 | thetrace.org | Joy Resmovits |Corniki Bornds |Juan Felipe Rendon |Juan F. Rendón

The Trace As survivors in The Trace’s Chicago Storytelling Workshop prepared to publish their essays this year, a new partner joined the gathering. Michelle Navarro, a producer for City Cast Chicago, recorded the group’s final meeting and interviewed participants.

Dec 6, 2024 | chicago.suntimes.com | Crystal Paul |Corniki Bornds |Estela Diaz |Jessica Brown

The room was quiet. The only thing the seven people sitting around the table knew about each other was that their lives had been marked by gun violence. That’s how it all started — seven survivors, gathering to tell their stories. They were part of the Survivor Storytelling Network — an initiative by the news organization The Trace to empower violence survivors to tell their stories in their own words.

Dec 6, 2024 | thetrace.org | Corniki Bornds

• The role of the gun industry in America’s gun violence epidemic. • Our team is examining a decade's worth of data from the Gun Violence Archive for insights into one of the most devastating public health crises in the United States. • The National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful special interest groups in America. We’re investigating how it spends its money. • A newsletter spotlighting the people, policies, and programs grappling with the gun violence crisis.

Dec 6, 2024 | thetrace.org | Corniki Bornds |Joy Resmovits

The Trace I’ll never forget what the pastor said in a Bible class I attended two weeks after my son was shot and killed, “Gun violence won’t take you and yours out.”I looked at the girl sitting next to me and said: “Too late. It happened.” Then, I walked out. All my life, church has been where I go when I have a problem. I knew the pastor had probably said something like that before. This time, it took me out, because I couldn’t understand why God didn’t protect me. I knew I needed more help.

Dec 6, 2024 | thetrace.org | Rita Oceguera |Joy Resmovits |Corniki Bornds

The Trace One cold night, Juan Rendon picked up a quiet young man on the South Side of Chicago. The rideshare passenger wore all black, with a ski mask covering his face. Eventually, he asked, “Hey, sir, could I ask you a question?” Rendon responded, “Sure, go ahead buddy, what’s up?”He asked, “What do you think about death?”The young man shared that he had lost his uncle two days earlier and didn’t know how to cope. Rendon was familiar with sudden loss.