Precious Lives

Stories about kids, guns and how to stop the violence. Precious Lives, created by 371 Productions, is a 2-year, 100-part weekly radio series about gun violence and young people in the Milwaukee area. The series applies a public health lens to each story to help listeners understand the full scope of the problem: who are the victims and the shooters; how are the weapons obtained; and what can we change about the environment that contributes to violence in Milwaukee?

#002 Precious Lives: History Repeating Itself

WUWM 89.7 FM

Published January 20, 2015 at 10:52 AM CST

Betzy Torres has a scar from the bullet that almost took her arm 22 years ago.

Betzy Torres was five when she was shot in her home on her mother’s lap.

She was the exact same age as Laylah Peterson who died sitting on her grandfather’s lap in November 2014. 22 years later, Betzy has two kids of her own and fears for their safety in Milwaukee. That’s why she moved to the suburb of Greenfield last June.

She belongs to Faith Builders church, which runs an adopt-a-block program on Milwaukee’s south side. For more information about the adopt-a-block program, visit PreciousLivesProject.org.

Corresponding Content:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Shot at age 5, woman transcends scars — both seen and unseen