TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Less than a week after a shooting on Perry Street left 12 people injured, including six juveniles, community leaders in Tallahassee are renewing calls to prevent youth gun violence and expand programs aimed at reaching young people before they become involved in violence.<\/p>\n
The Tallahassee Urban League brought together law enforcement, local officials and community members Friday morning to discuss the challenges of preventing violence and the role families and community organizations can play. Urban League President and CEO Curtis Taylor said the group used corvettes and hearses to represent the consequences of the choices young people make, encouraging them to pursue education and opportunities rather than paths that could lead to violence or an early death.<\/p>\n
Shonda Knight of the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office said prevention has to start well before children reach their teenage years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we know that once we get a child who is now 12 or 15 and they’ve been immersed in these negative environments, it’s like a piece of glass and every time you crack it a little bit more, it becomes more difficult to put back together,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n
Knight said parents, mentors, schools and community organizations all play a role in providing support and positive influences before young people become involved in violence.<\/p>\n
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor also emphasized early intervention, pointing to the home, school and church as critical places that shape a child\u2019s future. He contrasted those with the courthouse and jailhouse, warning that without the right guidance and support, young people could face consequences that change the course of their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this was an easy thing to solve, it would have been solved a long time ago. We’re going to have to roll up our sleeves and work and we’re going to have to save our children,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n
Tallahassee City Commissioner Diane Williams Cox said it is also important to listen to young people rather than simply telling them what they should or shouldn\u2019t do. She said teaching children how to resolve conflicts and walk away from disagreements could help prevent violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re not talking to them. We’re not listening to them in a way that they understand what we’re saying,\u201d Williams Cox said.<\/p>\n
Williams Cox highlighted several city programs aimed at providing alternatives and opportunities for young people. She pointed to Tallahassee\u2019s TEMPO program, which helps young people who may be disconnected from school or employment pursue their GED, develop job skills and explore options including trade school, college or starting their own businesses. Williams Cox said more than 160 young people have graduated from the program.<\/p>\n
She also highlighted the Tallahassee Future Leaders Academy, which provides summer employment opportunities while helping students develop workplace skills and earn money.<\/p>\n
Taylor said more prevention work is still needed and called for additional funding to expand efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to triple our efforts. We gotta get some more funding because we’re doing one or two when we should be doing 10 to 12,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
The Urban League offers workshops throughout the month focused on anger management, social responsibility, gang resistance, parenting and other challenges facing young people. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe gotta have programs that are designed to work with them, listen to them, and get them involved and let them have leadership roles in what we’re trying to do,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials also called for more community involvement. Tallahassee Police said much of law enforcement\u2019s work happens after a crime has already occurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut let’s be honest, a lot of the stuff that we do is reactive. We need you, our community, to stand up and help us,\u201d Detective Hill of the Tallahassee Police Department said.<\/p>\n
Taylor urged parents to know where their children are and who they are spending time with, particularly when attending large gatherings. He also encouraged residents to report situations where they know a young person has access to a firearm they should not possess, saying speaking up could prevent someone from getting hurt.<\/p>\n
The organization said keeping firearms secure is another way residents can help prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Less than a week after a shooting on Perry Street left 12 people injured, including…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-443080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}