Creators for Community Safety
On December 6, a collaboration between SAFELab, Penn Medicine, and ABRO hosted the Second Annual Creators for Community Safety Institute, a one-day interactive convening designed to deepen the role of digital creators in violence prevention and community healing.
Event Purpose and Focus
The Institute convened creators, influencers, advocates, youth leaders, and community partners to explore how digital storytelling and social media can advance gun violence prevention, promote community healing, and strengthen positive advocacy across Philadelphia.
Building on the momentum of the first convening, this year’s event further emphasized the importance of equipping local digital leaders with trauma-informed practices, restorative communication tools, and research-based approaches to navigating online spaces affected by violence.
Through panel discussions, interactive breakout sessions, and community-driven design activities, participants had opportunities to reflect on their experiences, share strategies for safe online engagement, and co-create ideas for future collaborative projects.
Key Takeaways
1. Social media creators are essential partners in violence-prevention efforts. Influencers and content creators possess both the cultural credibility and the reach needed to shift narratives about violence, healing, and community well-being. The summit demonstrated that when creators are given trauma-informed frameworks and evidence-based strategies, they are eager to leverage their platforms for positive messaging and community connection.
2. Youth and community members are seeking safe digital spaces for healing. Participants emphasized that social media often becomes a site for grief, conflict escalation, and retaliation. However, it also serves as a primary space where young people express distress and seek community support. This dual role reinforces the importance of designing digital-wellness tools, media literacy supports, and healing-focused content strategies.
3. Collaboration across sectors strengthens violence-prevention impact. Bringing together researchers, clinicians, community advocates, and digital creators led to rich interdisciplinary insights. Participants reported that hearing from both practitioners and influencers helped them understand the broader ecosystem of violence prevention and the collective responsibility to create supportive online environments.
4. Storytelling remains a powerful mechanism for connection and change. Keynote presentations, panel discussions, and creative performances underscored how personal stories can mobilize empathy, reduce stigma, and surface community-driven strategies for healing. Storytelling emerged as a critical method for bridging academic knowledge with lived experience.
5. Content creators need sustained support and training. Creators expressed a desire for continued collaboration, structured training, and access to mental-health-informed guidance. Many noted that they are often exposed to traumatic content without tools for managing emotional impact, highlighting an opportunity for ongoing capacity-building.