Urban Youth Trauma by Delgado (Boston Univ.) addresses one of the most vexing problems currently facing urban minority youth in contemporary America, namely easy access to guns and the consequent and ever-present threat of falling victim to gun violence. This issue is especially pressing when considering that hazards from exposure to indiscriminate shootings occur with unremitting regularity in many cities, compounded by urban law enforcement who have also contributed to the injury and death tolls with their occasional excessive use of force. In the early chapters Delgado presents extensive and convincing evidence of the dangers minority youth face today in their communities from the threat of gun violence, including the potential for increased incidence of PTSD and a variety of other mental health difficulties. In later chapters, he addresses the kinds of social programs that can help resolve these problems, helping children to overcome these obstacles to live useful, productive, and satisfying lives. . . [A] richly informative and useful work.



Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels.

Choice Reviews

This book is personal, powerful and prolific. The author pulls the curtain back and shows readers America’s violent structures and polices that fuel neighborhood trauma in communities of color. A rallying call for social workers to organize around this important social justice issue.

Dexter R. Voisin, University of Chicago