MILWAUKEE — With the city of Milwaukee seeing some of its highest rates of gun violence in recent memory, a local non-profit organization is partnering with a school to give students resources on how to identify dangerous situations and find peaceful solutions.
At 10 this morning, the Peace for Change Alliance, a local non-profit organization, will host a kick-off press conference here in anticipation of the upcoming Youth Victory over Violence week.
After a successful run last year, students at the Milwaukee Excellence Charter School, a school in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood, will attend workshops focused on a number of different topics, including reckless driving, sexual violence, mental health, bullying and gun violence.
On a larger scale, this week-long series is happening as the city grapples with a rise in youth violence. Data from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office shows that before the pandemic, the city averaged about a dozen youth homicides a year. But in 2020, that number jumped to 28. In 2021, 26 minors were victims of homicide and 27 died in 2022.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, there have been three firearm-related homicides and 12 non-fatal shooting juvenile victims so far this year.
Some city and state leaders are expected to join the big kick-off as well.
