Often, traumatic stress is only thought in regards of soldier returning from war. However, it exists everyday in the lives of many people living in cities in the United States that have never placed a foot in Iraq or Afghanistan. For the past four years, I have been documenting crime and the effects of a culture of violence in cities in United States to bring attention to it’s lasting emotional and psychological consequences. Violent crime, poverty, drugs, gangs, and high rates of unemployment are problems that often go unanswered in many of America’s cities. This leaves many families and local communities suffering, which only perpetuates further violence.