D.C. launched a series of events to give young people and families in high-crime neighborhoods access to government resources. News4’s Mark Segraves reports.
D.C. is launching a series of community resource fairs to give families in high-crime areas support amid growing concern over the impact of gun violence on teenagers.
The first of these events took place Thursday at Anacostia High School, kicking off a series of resource fairs to be held every Thursday through the end of summer. This week’s fair featured dozens of tables set up by city services and agencies that provided support to the nearly 50 young people that attended.
Darion Carter, a senior at Anacostia High, said the fair helps young people find direction.
"It's a good way... for the students to apply for jobs and get ready for their future," he said. "What the government's done is good because it makes the younger people not want to be part of the violence and makes them want to be part of the cause to stop the violence."
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Carter wants to be a firefighter — and luckily for him, D.C. Fire and EMS is one of many agencies participating in the pop-up events.
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah initiated the community resource fairs to help support the safety needs of middle school and high-school-aged students.
“We're going to continue to do these type of efforts, all of our crime reduction efforts, efforts to engage young people where they're at, until violence is not a reality for young people or anybody in the District,” Appiah said.
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The outreach program begins after a string of shootings wounding teenagers. On Tuesday, a double shooting along Alabama Avenue Southeast killed 16-year-old Traev’on Green and caused life-threatening injuries to another teen. The next day, two men were killed and three teenage boys were shot in three separate shootings in a matter of hours.
Twenty-one minors have been shot since the beginning of 2023, compared to 12 minors shot at this time last year.
Homicides in the city have increased by 19% compared to this time last year, according to Metropolitan Police Department data.
The DC Youth Summit, a group of students in D.C., met in January to discuss the staggering statistics of youth violence. According to a 2021 National Youth Risk Behavior survey, 37% of middle school and 27% of high school students in D.C. reported experiencing violence or abuse in their neighborhoods.
For information on future community resource fairs, click here or check Appiah's official Twitter page.
