DAYTON — One local group is calling people together, looking for solutions to gun violence that takes young people’s lives.
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News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson will attend the meeting. She will have the latest LIVE on News Center 7 at 11:00.
NAACP will hold a forum Monday night called “Youth Violence, the Root Causes,” featuring a panel of representatives from several groups.
The group said 10 out of the 40 homicide victims in Dayton last year involved juveniles.
“They cry out, saying they need mentors in their lives,” Derrick L. Foward, president of the Dayton Branch NAACP, said.
The NAACP has been working on this issue for years, but in the last 12 months, it has highlighted the need for everyone in the community to get involved in stopping and reducing gun violence among teens.
That’s why he was four young juveniles working as interns at the NAACP headquarters.
“They want something different to do and something positive to do,” Foward said.
He said the problem really began to come into deadly focus last June.
A drive-by shooting at a so-called “pop-up” party left more than half a dozen young hurt.
“What can you do as a citizen? What can you do as a company? What can you do as someone who cares about our youth?” Foward said.
Foward said they are working with many groups, including the mayor of Dayton.
We will continue to follow this story.
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