Tiffany Owens is a Saginaw mother of three. Her 12-year-old son was killed in 2012 in a nighttime drive-by. Her 26-year-old daughter was killed in 2021 in a random shooting at a block party. She spoke at an October city council meeting about her experience.
“This city took away something that was so precious and dear to me. I've been living here all my life. And then have to bury two of my kids and they out in Forest Lawn,” she said. “They say you can't question God, but I do, because, yeah, why me, why my kids?”
Owens expressed frustration with violence in the city and called on the council to be more active in combating gun violence in Saginaw. Gun violence has long been a problem in the city of over 43,000 people.
The Saginaw police department reported 143 homicides in Saginaw between 2014 and 2023 to the FBI’s crime stats program.
Officer Julian Guevara is union president of the Saginaw Police Association. He says crime is becoming common across Saginaw, and he can’t name any specific area with more difficulties.
“If you asked me this question 10 years ago, I'd be able to tell you more specifically an area, but now that the city is kind of being riddled with it, it's, it's a hard question, really,” he said.
As for what causes gun crime in Saginaw, Guevara cited drugs, gangs and guns getting into the hands of people who use them to solve personal disputes. In addition, he says the city needs to entice new police officers by raising wages.
He said people in the city are becoming desensitized and fear potential retribution for talking to law enforcement.
“Unfortunately, for a lot of the citizens, I think it just becomes almost normal for them to unfortunately be in a community where gunfire is high.”
On a phone call with WCMU, Owens said social media plays a role in violence because it drags more people into personal standoffs.
“Back in the day, people fight. Now, people don't even fight, they just go immediately to shooting and aiming to kill. And social media plays a huge part in that because everybody joins in on, on social media,” Owens said.
Across Michigan, communities and city leaders have poured resources into Community Violence Intervention programs. Detroit has invested millions into its "ShotStopper" program which city officials say has helped bring violent crime down to its lowest levels in decades.
As Saginaw struggles, leaders have stepped in with similar efforts, providing services to help victims and motivate the youth.
“Our community is on fire, and either we're going to become firemen, we may not have been trained, we may not necessarily have the biggest hose, but if we can all get a bucket, we can put out this fire,” said pastor and Saginaw native Kareem J. Bowen.
He’s president of a volunteer organization called Healing, Engagement, Love, Prescence or HELP. The organization focuses on community engagement by talking to residents in difficult areas and after crimes occur. They also focus on teaching de-escalation tactics and education
Bowen says there's a citywide effort backing them and leaders like Mayor Brenda Moore are helping. "Our city manager has been 100% involved as well. Our chief of police has been fully committed to this process, and our community partners, our departments of community health.”
He said the work is trying to get through to young people. While that group helps engage communities, another steps up for victims. The Saginaw Parents of Murdered Children chapter is working on helping with support for families.
“Does she have any life insurance on her kids, or does she need help with burial services,” said Owens, one of the leaders of the group. “We try to offer resources to her, we'll go with them to the funeral home, we'll help them make necessary arrangements. We try to provide resources for their other children that's in the house with them, far as grieving, counseling services."
For everything, Owens still believes in her community, and she says she’s grateful that her lone surviving child hasn’t become bitter after the death of his siblings.
“He's a great kid, and I thank God that him burying his siblings, that it didn't cause his heart to harden, that he didn't turn to the street, that he didn't want to retaliate or do harm to the people that took his siblings away from him.”
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state House last month would take a 1.5% cut of sales tax to fund public safety efforts, like the ones in Saginaw. Kareem Bowen says that could be a huge help.
"That this is something that should be a part of the taxing process. That communities should, a part of the sales tax that that's collected, a part of this work should be funded," Bowen said.
Bowen mentioned that a plan like that could help put water in their hoses to start chipping away at bringing down gun violence.
