CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department recently reported crime rates are up, and violent acts continue to disrupt the Queen City. But local community leaders are working together to get a handle on the rise in violence. They are looking for solutions by taking a boots-on-the-ground approach and speaking to the families directly impacted.
“This is my city and I don’t like the way the crime rate is going and we are going to try to do whatever we can to fix it,” said Stephanie Harrison, founder of the Stop Killing our Children Support Group.
"The crime rate among young people is increasing and we have to do something to reach the young people," said James Barnett, founder of Stop the Killing Crusade.
Two groups, one mission to curb the gun violence in Charlotte.
CMPD reports overall crime is up 4.3 percent compared to last year. and the big concern is the young people.
It’s violence Harrison is not a stranger to. Her son was shot and killed in 2015. She describes it as the worst pain in the world. The father of her son and her own father also lost their lives to gun violence.
"If I can influence a family and just tell them my story, my son's story, maybe they will understand the pain and trauma that do plague Black family homes and we can overcome this," she said.
Her group travels around the city to different places affected by homicides, speaking to people in the area and holding signs with messages on them, like "Think before you pull the trigger" and "kill the hate, not each other."
So far in 2022, CMPD reports that 482 young people have been victims of gun-related crimes. Moreover, 118 youth have committed crimes involving firearms.
Barnett is asking the youth to drop their weapons and stop killing one another.
“We started Black Lives Matter back in the '80s," said Barnett. "We said 'nobody can save us from us but us' when trying to save the Black community. And we have to say to these young kids that what you are doing is wrong.”
Barnett is outraged by the senseless loss of life, but even more, by what he said is a lack of action taken by local leadership.
"We are dealing with two, three, or more generations of neglect. We don’t reach our young people. Where are our role models?" he asked. "We need particularly the Black elected officials, male elected officials to be more involved in the community. Black ministers need to be involved in the community. They need to come out and say to the youth we are better than this."
He added that saying stop the violence is not enough. Barnett feels that a plan needs to be put in place to stop what he calls a kind of genocide in the community.
The activists are speaking to their neighbors, sharing their stories, and connecting them with resources to better serve them so that picking up a gun no longer becomes the answer.
"If I can help one family, two families -- that’s my therapy," expressed Harrison. "That’s what helps me, that’s what keeps me going.”
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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