Crime in Baltimore has been chronicled extensively, but largely through the lens of the criminal justice system. Mostly invisible from the coverage are the stories of those left behind when the ambulances drive off and the crime scenes are cleaned up. The Baltimore Sun series Collateral Damage worked to tell those stories. The three-part series sought to show how violence in Baltimore has wreaked havoc on the health of tens of thousands of people that span generations.
They are the kids who can’t concentrate in school because their bodies are stressed out from the constant sound of gunshots. They are the families who become instant caregivers to gunshot victims and the moms stunted by grief after losing their sons to murder. Among the personal stories of these groups, she presented the latest research on how the chronic stress of the situations impacted people’s health. The series sought to shed light on a problem that is right before readers’ eyes, but still so hidden from their consciousness.