The Chicago Reporter

Protesters, many of whom are members of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) and Fearless Leading by Youth (FLY), demand that the University of Chicago Medical Center reopen its level-one trauma center, which closed in 1988. There are no adult level-one trauma centers on the South Side, and one of the founding members of FLY, Damian Turner, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital downtown after being hit by a stray bullet near 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in August 2010, at age 18. His family and friends think he would have lived if he could have been treated at the University of Chicago, just blocks away. As part of the protest, activists wearing t-shirts that appear blood-stained play dead outside of the hospital.

Too Young to Die is a long-term documentary photography project, now in its fifth year, which seeks to enlighten the public about the effects of youth violence on young victims, their families, and society as a whole. It is an effort to shake the country's conscience in a way that most mainstream media—hyper-commercialized and celebrity obsessed—no longer do. My interest is to get beyond the headlines, beyond the fear and sensationalism, and create understanding of the true costs that are borne by the victims of this violence, and, in the final analysis, by all of us. The purpose of my project is to personalize the stories of youth, families, and individuals who are affected by violence in a profound way. These stories are not about hip-hop, rap music or teens wearing saggy pants. These stories are about poverty, despair, neglect, hope, love and resilience.

Photos from the project are currently on display at Loyola University Chicago's School of Communication, 51 E. Pearson Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. For more, go to www.carlosjavierortiz.com.