RALEIGH, N.C. — Violence is a pressing issue in Charlotte and in communities across North Carolina.
To tackle this, around 200 professionals from law enforcement, public health, and community organizations gathered in Raleigh Wednesday for the first multi-day North Carolina Violence Prevention Conference.
The event is hosted by the State Office of Violence Prevention which was created last year by Governor Roy Cooper in an effort to increase collaborations between state and local leaders to fight violence and boost public safety.
This comes as three shootings took place in Charlotte in a span of 24 hours. Two of those turned deadly. That's the kind of violence plaguing communities and why Heal Charlotte founder Greg Jackson said it was important for him to attend the conference.
“It impacts the direct family and then it impacts the schools. It impacts the teachers. It impacts everyone when someone is lost by gun violence,” he said. “We have some great success stories, but those success stories do not drown out the tragedies that are happening right now in all of the cities around North Carolina.”
Jackson has been at the forefront in the fight to reduce crime with his organization – focusing on revitalizing neighborhoods. Heal Charlotte recently turned a hotel into a refuge for families who have fallen into hard times.
“We want to transform the environment and transform the neighborhood by acquiring buildings and taking over land,” said Jackson. “Making sure that not only are we bringing programs to people, but after people successfully graduate from these programs, they have healthy and safe environments to live in.”
Leaders from all sectors and backgrounds shared knowledge and resources. It's about finding out what works while expanding on those efforts and bringing the right resources back to their communities.
“When we talk about communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, it's hopelessness," said Tracie Campbell, the Senior Health Manager for the Mecklenburg County Public Health Office of Violence. "So giving people hope and providing resources and other avenues and alternatives to resulting in violence is really important."
Advocates also looked at diverse approaches to violence prevention and explored funding opportunities to sustain this work. Panels included discussions surrounding intervention and prevention efforts along with increasing collaboration and building a community violence prevention ecosystem.
“We know that not one entity has the ability to reduce this problem of violence that's plaguing North Carolina and the country on its own,” said Campbell. “It takes a collaborative effort. We're looking at how we bring multiple sectors together to address all of the issues that are impacting violence.”
“Another important part of creating that ecosystem is just ensuring that we're all using the same language and understand the shared goal that we're all working towards, so that there's overlap in our coordination and our collaboration,” said Siarra Scott, the acting director of the NC Office of Violence Prevention.
Jackson said he is staying in the fight for the long haul.
"What's next is us as an organization realizing that we cannot do this work by ourselves, that we cannot do this work in silos. What's next is partnerships and funding, instead of competition and funding," he said.
Jackson is also calling for community for support.
"When you see someone out of line, I really want to encourage those that are watching and under my voice right now to not only see something and say something but do something about it," he said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.