TownTalk: JCPC Hosts Sept. 25 Symposium On Ways To Promote Youth Safety
The Vance County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council is hosting a one-day community driven symposium on Friday, Sept. 26 to talk about the safety of youth and to create a community action plan to support efforts to curb gun violence.
The Youth Violence & Emerging Gangs Symposium will be held in the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church, 114 Church St. in downtown Henderson.
Debbie Scott with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office said more than a half dozen youth-oriented organizations and agencies are partnering to put on the event in light of a shooting incident in June that took the life of a local 15-year-old and injured a second young child.
“It was a call to action…because we care,” Scott said of the tragic loss of the teenager’s life. “We needed to come together as a united front…to focus on a summit that will engage us in looking at real challenges impacting our young people in Vance County and surrounding counties,” she said.
The symposium is free to attend, but registration is required. Scott said she and the other partners invite members from all parts of the community to attend the symposium and brainstorm strategies to put into action.
“We agreed that youth safety is a community-wide responsibility. Real solutions require all of us working together,” she said. Parents, educators and law enforcement representatives are encouraged to take part in the symposium, as well as faith leaders and members of youth-related agencies.
Whether you work directly with youth or just care about the safety of your own neighborhood, it’s important to share your observations and perspectives about youth violence and crime, she said.
Planning for the event continues, but Scott said the afternoon session will center around gun violence, developing goals and solutions that will feed into creation of a community action plan.
“The key is partnership, the key is collaboration,” said Scott, who works with juvenile outreach for the sheriff’s office. She said she spends a lot of time talking with young people about healthy ways to stay away from guns, violence and crime.
Scott’s job includes outreach to schools to talk with students about the dangers of guns and gangs, but she also spends time fielding calls from family members who say they’re worried about children and grandchildren headed down the wrong path and getting involved with the wrong people.
She spends time sharing resources that are available in the area, from youth-centered programs to family counseling.
“We have so many smart, brilliant children in Vance County,” Scott said. “They have a bright future, and they deserve the best we can give them.”
Register by emailing Scott at Dscott@vancecounty.org or phone 252.738.2235.
Click Play!
