By Christina Hasaan, Ciara Sheerin, Betsey Carroll – DAO DATA CoLab
Every Murder is Real: Hope in Action
Every Murder is Real (EMIR) Healing Center was born from a mother’s determination to transform grief into strength. Victoria Greene founded EMIR following the murder of her son, Emir, when he was just 20 years old. After attending grief assistance programming and support groups that she credited with saving her life, she wanted to provide services and support to other families and friends impacted by homicide. Through advocacy, education, and community engagement, EMIR transforms loss into leadership, building a movement that uplifts those affected by violence while celebrating the resilience of Philadelphia.
Today, EMIR is based in Germantown but provides services throughout the city. EMIR’s wraparound victim services approach includes crisis response, case management, victim compensation assistance, relocation support, mental-health counseling, and holistic trauma-informed support. Their work also extends into restorative justice, violence-prevention programming, and wellness workshops. By focusing on healing practices, such as trauma-informed yoga, art therapy, and conflict resolution workshops, EMIR fosters a culture of recovery and renewal for individuals and neighborhoods alike. EMIR aims to meet each individual’s unique needs, from emotional support to access to vital resources.
A Spotlight on the Philly Day of Hope
The EMIR Healing Center’s Day of Hope began as a dream to turn pain into purpose. The event is part of EMIR’s #HopeCampaign that is dedicated to spreading awareness about the city’s strengths, resources, and opportunities for residents. On the Day of Hope, EMIR brings together stakeholders, organizations, support services, and resources from across Philadelphia to highlight the city’s strengths that residents can access. This is coupled with entertainment, food, and celebration of Philadelphia. Most importantly, it is a time to remember lost loved ones while shining a light on the city’s potential.
From its inception, the #HopeCampaign has inspired growth across the city—connecting individuals, families, and organizations united by healing and empowerment. Thousands have joined the mission to foster resilience, restore hope, and highlight the positive resources within Philadelphia’s diverse neighborhoods.
Collaborating with the DATA CoLab: Mapping the Community’s Strengths
In the spirit of the Day of Hope, EMIR has partnered with the DATA CoLab to continue to map community strengths and expand their resource guide for Philadelphians. The DATA CoLab will work in collaboration with EMIR to host an asset mapping workshop that will contribute to EMIR’S growing interactive virtual resource guide. Asset mapping is a strengths-based process in which stakeholders, such as community-based organizations and community members, identify, describe, and visualize the existing resources and capacities within their community. The resulting product is a map of these assets that focuses on what already works and how those strengths can be leveraged to create positive change within the community. This exercise and map can allow EMIR and community members to identify assets and strengths in their community that can bolster their own work and be resources to community members.
Looking Ahead: Expansion and Future Initiatives
EMIR hopes to continue to expand its services and the Day of Hope to all Philadelphia residents. Plans are underway to expand outreach programs, strengthen youth partnerships, and bring the message of healing to even more communities, continuing to inspire a city-wide movement rooted in compassion and collective strength. EMIR is scaling its outreach across Philadelphia, aiming to reach 1.6 million citizens through events like the “Philly Day of Hope,” and continuing to build partnerships to uplift every corner of the city.
This expansion will be made possible with EMIR’s newest partnership with the Northwest Collective Coalition. Northwest Collective is a coalition of non-profits working in the northwest section of Philadelphia to reduce violence. Working collaboratively to reduce violence by combining resources, community relationships, and expertise, the group focuses not only on immediate violence prevention but also on addressing the root causes, such as poverty, lack of access to education, housing instability, and limited economic opportunity that contribute to cycles of harm. Through coordinated outreach, programming, and advocacy, the Northwest Collective aims to create safer, more resilient neighborhoods by tackling the social determinants of violence and investing in long-term community well-being.
Conclusion: A Platform for Change
The Day of Hope is more than an event—it serves as a powerful call to action for healing and community restoration. The organization’s work shines a light on the resilience and promise of Philadelphia, honoring lives lost to violence while inspiring collective healing and lasting change.
Acknowledgements
The DATA CoLab is honored to work with organizations like EMIR.
We welcome feedback, comments, and inquiries to collaborate with the CoLab or support for the associated community partners at [email protected].
The DATA CoLab is made possible through funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).