Milwaukee youth violence, community outreach event aims to turn tide
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman called on the community to help as young people continue to get involved in serious crimes. On Saturday, an event focused on answering that call.
FOX6 talked to activists and leaders from a variety of organizations that focus on making a difference in kids' lives. Many of them said real changes starts at home.
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"We always hear about the negative things, but we don’t get enough light on the positive things that are being done," said Dee-Dee Davis, a community activist.
Norman said violence among young people is far from new. However, concern is growing – and the question is now how to help curb the trend.
Milwaukee alarming crime trend; more kids involved in serious crimes
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said it is an alarming trend and the community must step up – as more and more kids are involved in serious and sometimes deadly crimes.
"Our job is to go into the streets and make sure we end some of the gun violence, through transformative mentoring, violence interruption as well as providing services to the community at large," said David Sinclair, outreach supervisor with 414Life. "We all come together to make sure we make an impact."
Sinclair and 414Life were among several outreach organizations that took part in Saturday's event. Each group hopes to build the foundations for a better future.
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"Many of our young people are headed for death or incarceration, and our goal is to get them away from death and incarceration and to living a life that is alive and free," Sinclair said.
Sinclair said change can start with anyone and everyone.
"Connecting with your next-door neighbor and setting boundaries for what you want your neighborhood to look like and what you want to see happening in your community," he said.