KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The recent string of youth gun crimes in West Michigan have raised questions, including where teenagers are obtaining guns, and how it can be prevented.
That is what several local groups in Kalamazoo are aiming to do.
Bent Not Broken, a group that advocates for and supports youth in the criminal justice system, said they want to support those who do not have the community to support them.
“If we could just help others not feel some of those negative emotions that we have when we go through losing someone to gun violence, that is definitely a priority,” Executive Director of Bent Not Broken Ebony Hemphill said.
“The reason why I’m doing this work is to help save the future; is to help save the kids, it’s to help send another kid home to their parents, instead of one going to jail, or one going to the grave,” Director of Youth Development at Bent Not Broken Dontray Hemphill said.
Yafinceo Harris works for Urban Alliance and Peace During War (PDW),a group that helps put people in connection with the resources they need to prevent gun violence.
Those resources include tutoring and behavioral health specialists. PDW does not provide those resources, but rather ways people can connect to them.
Harris told News Channel 3 education is one of the most important ways they try to keep kids away from guns and crime.
“To have extra support existing in this community that’s coming in willingly and taking time out to educate these individuals, these children, these young men and young women, on how to be better, man, that’s awesome,” Harris said.
Both groups agreed that young people having role models to look up to helps as well.
