Youth violence is a ‘crisis’ in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington City Council members agreed youth violence is a ‘crisis’ in the city Tuesday night.

City Manager Sterling Cheatham presented a report on reducing youth gun violence in Wilmington Tuesday after hosting several forums over the winter for the report. Cheatham said they found the youth often lack family structure, good education and meaningful jobs. In addition to those reasons, the reports also suggests racism, media bias, and overloaded jails lead to violence.

Cheatham hopes to address those issues through more funding for things like early education, job-placement programs, and collaboration between law enforcement and community leaders. He also said he wants to ask non-profits to lead the community to lessen the violence.

The city is asking for your input on strategies to prevent youth violence. Surveys are available online until April 23.