Health Perspective: Doing the work to combat local gun violence

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Gun violence is a significant public health problem and a leading cause of preventable death among children and teens. A recent report from CMPD showed a 33% increase in shootings involving juveniles, a very troubling trend for Charlotte.

Just a few weeks into 2024, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers have responded to multiple shootings involving juveniles ages 12-17. In recent months, a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old were both shot and killed. In another instance, 2 teen boys were charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a 30-year-old man.

Gun violence impacts local hospital systems, and according to Atrium Health, there has been a steady increase in the number of children and teenagers who have experienced gunshot injuries. The hospital system said it has treated over 400 individuals under 18 in the past 5 years, and since 2009, hospital charges for violent injuries treated by Atrium Health reached more than $53.3 million.

A recent surge in juvenile shootings in Mecklenburg County caught the attention of many community advocates, educators, and policymakers. These groups have begun to introduce community measures to address adolescent gun violence.

A recent visit to Charlotte by Vice President Kamala Harris discussed preventing gun violence and supporting more mental health resources for young people in Mecklenburg County. Among the groups Vice President Harris met during her visit was Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., the nonprofit that worked with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to launch the Alternatives to Violence (ATV) community violence interruption (CVI) program in 2021.

YAP now operates two of the city’s ATV sites — Beatties Ford Road and West Boulevard. The national nonprofit began working with the county in 2019 to provide community-based services to youth who might otherwise be incarcerated.

“YAP’s Alternatives to Violence work is guided by the principles of the organization’s unique 49-year-old evidence-based youth and family wraparound services model,” said YAP Vice President of the Southeast LaVeisha Cummings, D.C.C. According to Dr. Cummings, YAP Advocates work with our youth justice system, and the ATV team connects individuals at the highest risk of engaging in violence with individualized tools that support their strengths, address their basic needs, and help them turn their lives around.”

In 2023, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County awarded YAP a contract that provides them the resources to continue to serve individuals ages 14-25, identified as most at risk of violence engagement, connecting them to individualized “YAPWrap” economic, educational, and emotional tools as an alternative to violence.

YAP has received a tremendous amount of community support, and their action-driven model uses community advocates to give kids hope, show them a different way of life, and the hands-on approach from real people who have experienced some of the situations many of these juveniles are faced with today has proven to be an effective program.

To learn more about the services provided by YAP or if you want to support any of their current programs please visit yapinc.org.