BALTIMORE — Youth violence is growing in Baltimore City.
However, in just a few weeks students will return to the classroom.
Baltimore community leaders are encouraging the youth to rise above the violence.
On Thursday, a summer day well-spent for children in East Baltimore, they are dancing to music, playing and enjoying time with their peers.
School leaders are focusing on being mentors and leaders to children, lending a hand for children who need loved.
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“When the adults in the community fail to provide warmth and love to the children in the village they can’t get mad when those same children set the village on fire to find the warmth and that love,” said Patrick McDonald, Assistant Principal at Fort Worthington Elementary Middle School.
There has been a lot of gun violence in the city.
Educators and mentors, including Danny Johnson, are hoping to encourage youth ahead of the upcoming school year to avoid the distractions.
“We’re teaching gun violence, we’re teaching how to apply yourself and how to react to it, how to react if it’s a traumatic experience to you,” Johnson said. “We’re often teaching about conflict resolution regards to gun violence how to resolve the conflict.”
Terry Williams, a parent known as “Uncle T, is encouraging other parents to play a stronger role in curbing the violence across Baltimore.
“Parents, we have to play a much more active role in our children’s lives,” Williams said. “We have to admit some hard truths and that is that the mothers messed up, the fathers messed up, aunties and uncles the village is not there.”
Johnson echoed the need for more adults to engage our youth.
“We’ve got to set good examples for these kids,” Johnson said. “They’re the future. We need to guide them. We’ve got to protect our kids, protect our blocks.”
“Our children are our No. 1 resource and if we don’t find time for them then our community is lost anyway,” McDonald said. “If we can get one kid and get one family then we get back one community.”
Based on data, 510 teens – between the ages of 14 and 19 years old- have been arrested since January 1.
