Mentorship program aims to confront gun violence among young New Yorkers
NEW YORK -- A string of gun violence incidents involving children in the city has police concerned and many wondering what needs to be done to confront it.
CBS New York's Doug Williams tells the story of one program that's doing exactly that.
Tuesday night, two children -- just 3 and 6 years old -- were injured in a shooting at St. James Park.
The problem of youth gun violence, though not limited to the Bronx, has led to multiple tragedies there in recent weeks. Including Tuesday night's victims, police are aware of four children shot in the borough in the last two weeks with victims ranging from 3 to 12 years old. NYPD officials addressed these concerns last week.
"Fourteen percent of all the shooting arrests this year, under the age of 18," NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri said.
"These are real guns in the hands of real bad people that are harming real children," NYPD Acting Commissioner Edward Caban said.
The Miller Mentorship Program at The New School, set up by the organization New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, educates and mentors students from areas in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens who have been affected by gun violence.
"Having a firearm on you changes the way that you'd act in certain situation," one student said during a class.
"'Cause folks are always talking about let's pass better laws, stricter laws, right? And that's cool. But what else do we need?" a teacher asked.
"Maybe a more proactive approach. Like, fix poverty rates, unemployment. And also like giving them actual resources," a student said.
"How many young people in this city have lost somebody to gun violence? A ton. Why wouldn't they be heartbroken, devastated, rageful?" a teacher said.
Educators with the program tell us these sessions are designed to teach but also to listen to young people's experiences in their neighborhoods.
"I think programs like ours and others do a good job at one, telling kids the reality of the gun violence situation, but also making them feel empowered to do something about it," educator Frank Teah said.
"Allows them to tell us more about what they want. Or their perspectives," educator Michelle Lucero said.
Police say 25% of young people arrested in a gun-related crime commit a similar one within two years. These teachers say not every kid who needs to hear their message is in these classrooms, but it's a start.
"I've been teaching for two years. I've already lost students to gun violence," educator Andrea Gonzales said. "Our curriculum shifts and changes depending on what our young people tell us so that they are more well-informed about what they go through and they feel heard and empowered to actually do something about it."
