CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte city leaders are seeking solutions and working to curb the violence across the Queen City. Monday night, they voted to invest over $1.3 million in programs to do just that.
The “violence interruption” services have focused on the Beatties Ford Road community. The proposal looks to also implement them in other parts of the city.
Community members hope the efforts can make their neighborhoods safer.
“I think it is a good idea for them to step in when there is violence like that," Delores Teasley, a north Charlotte resident, said. "They need to talk to the people in the community to see what they can do to better the situation, to better the area."
Interrupting the violence is a top priority for city leaders. It’s violence that is devastating communities.
“It has gotten a lot worse and it's gotten younger," Yolanda Warren, the owner of Custom Hut Print Shop, said. "More young people are being affected and involved in violent acts."
The city council will consider proposals to continue the fight against violence through two program sites including Youth Advocates Program (YAP) Incorporated's Alternatives to Violence and the Urban League of Central Carolinas. The programs will focus on teens and young adults between 14 and 25 years old.
People whose job is to act as “violence interrupters” are out in the community. They work with at-risk youth, mediate disputes, and are on the scene after violent incidents to prevent acts of retaliation.
They are initiatives Warren wants to see grow. Her shop is located off Beatties Ford Road.
“I would like to see more of them and hear more about them so more people can take advantage of the programs they have,” Warren said.
The groups also work to connect families with resources like job training, education, and substance abuse treatment.
“When you have skills, you have more value to yourself and you have more value to people around you,” Warren said. “I think that is a big thing. Kids feeling worthless is what spurs a lot of the violence because they have nothing to live for. They have no regard for anybody else because they have no regard for themselves.”
City leaders will consider expanding the program to the West Boulevard area and to the Nations Ford and Arrowood roads communities where two deadly shootings unfolded over the weekend.
Warren hopes people find better ways to resolve their differences and put the guns away.
“At the end of the day, you are ruining so many people’s lives and your life down the line,” Warren said. “It’s not worth it.”
A study by UNC Charlotte found that the violence interruption services have helped significantly reduce the number of deadly shootings and essentially have made a positive impact on local communities.
In response to the vote, Fred Fogg, YAP's national director of community-based safety initiatives, released the following statement:
"Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. applauds the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for being a nationwide leader in community safety innovation by implementing and now expanding their Alternatives to Violence program. Since 2021, the YAP ATV team has combined our wraparound services approach with the Cure Violence model to make significant strides in empowering people at the highest risk of violence with the tools necessary to meet their basic needs and resolve conflict without resorting to violence. The team is connecting youth and their families to economic, educational and emotional resources that provide tangible, sustainable alternatives to violence. YAP looks forward to implementing those same practices through the expansion of the program to the West Boulevard/Remount Road area."
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.