Imhotep students pitch ideas to curb youth violence to Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner as summer approaches
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Summer is just around the corner. And as kids across Philadelphia lose the daily structure of school, city officials worry about a rise in youth violence.
"We talked to the kids this morning, they're frightened simply by the idea of leaving their homes," First Assistant District Attorney Robert Listenbee said.
Listenbee has spent decades working to keep kids away from crime, even serving as the Director of Juvenile Justice in the Obama Administration. The Philadelphia assistant DA now says our city is seeing a rise in youth violence.
"We've had more shootings and gun violence and homicides involving young people during the last 2 to 3 years," Listenbee said.
Listenbee attributed that rise to various things, including social media and fallout from the pandemic, where many kids didn't "reconnect to the school system."
Philadelphia also saw a jump in youth violence during March, including the mass shooting in the Northeast that left eight juveniles injured. That violence has also hit home for students and staff at Imhotep Institute Charter High School.
"I can't say what it was like. I can say what it is like because we're still dealing with it right now," Principal Jury Segers said.
Last month, a 17-year-old Imhotep student was shot and killed while getting off a bus in the Ogontz neighborhood. Segers says it has impacted the school as the community continues to grieve the loss.
"As a family, we're trying to keep his legacy alive," Segers said. "Wrap our arms around his family, as well as his Imhotep family."
But on Monday, students at Imhotep tried to turn that tragedy into a better tomorrow. They had the chance to pitch their ideas for reducing youth violence in the city directly to District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Krasner says he was "impressed" with the Imhotep students, and says they discussed everything from summer jobs to programs. One pitch that stood out to DA officials was programs centered on real estate and financial literacy.
"Many, many people talked about financial literacy, talked about the importance of understanding from early on a financial pathway so you don't go to what's easy, which is selling drugs on the corner," Krasner said.
"These are things that we have not heard about in the past," Listenbee said.
Seger says this was an important opportunity for the students at Imhotep, all of whom took time from a school holiday, to make sure they were there to be seen and heard.
"The fact that we had a group of them willing to come in on their day off while they already had some other things planned, I think that really speaks to how excited they were to have a seat at the table and to lend their voice," Seger said.
Listenbee says now it's up to leaders to make those ideas into reality, and he believes the city needs to work quickly.
"Every child should have adults who serve as positive role models involved with them. That's what we need to do and we need to do it right away," Listenbee said.
Krasner also announced the opening of applications for grants from his office to nonprofits that support youth summer programs. You can apply by emailing grantmakingservices@philafound.org. Organizations have until April 19 to apply.