Humboldt Leaders Discuss Youth Violence In City
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Crime involving young people is on the rise, and leaders in Humboldt said they want to put a stop to the rash of violence. They said they will start by raising awareness about gang violence among young people at a meeting Saturday, which will eventually help with prevention. “With the killing and everything going on, we need some answers and we need to find out what we can do to save our youth and to help our youth from this turmoil they’re in right now,” Humboldt Alderman Leon McNeal said. The meeting comes almost a month after a 22-year-old Milan man was fatally shot along South 18th Avenue, allegedly by a 17-year-old. “I don’t think you could find anything else more important than this issue right now because we are losing these kids and we’re losing them really fast,” McNeal said. Police Chief Raymond Simmons believes children must be reached at a young age by getting them involved in positive programs. He said the police department is always willing to speak to schools about gang prevention. “We’ve got to aggressively try to change the culture that we have for our young people to make them all that they can be and to give them positive alternatives to the lifestyle that they’re living now,” Chief Simmons said. Pastors said the solution starts in the home, before it can get into the community. “I think a part of the solution to our problem is parents learning how to parent and to be the parent that they’ve been called to be,” Bishop Julian Knowles said. Leaders said they hope the community will get involved to keep more kids away from gangs, drugs and violence. Saturday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the basement of the Humboldt Municipal Center.
