Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker announced a plan to address youth violence in the city, following an uptick in youth homicides over the summer.
The Youth Violence Prevention Plan has three main facets; microgrants, community relations with police and youth led conversations.
The city plans to use $250,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) interest earnings toward small grants up to $10,000 to support local individuals and organizations working with teens to curb violence. The use of the ARPA funds will require approval by City Council.
Councilman Marty Bender, a former longtime police officer, joined Tucker at the announcement where she said she’d spoken to all the council members before announcing the plan to make sure they were on the same page.
“I wanted to make sure that our city council members were in the loop and were involved in what this plan would be and were supportive of that, and they are,” Tucker said. “We’ve talked with every single council member and they’re supportive of the plan.”
The grants recipients will be reviewed and interviewed by the Mayor’s Young Adult Council, which will offer recommendations for recipients to the city.
Tucker specified none of the funds for the grants will come from tax dollars.
Tucker also invited Canterbury High School student, and incoming president of the Youth Engagement Council Katie Ma to join her in announcing the plan.
Ma said she joined the council because she loved what it stood for.
“Having youth make a difference in Fort Wayne,” Ma said. “I feel like that’s not common around other cities, where youth really have a say in what goes on in the city and have the ability to put into action to make some difference.”
The council will be hosting a conversation for anyone ages 14-18 soon to discuss youth violence to help the city better understand the specific concerns and problems they’re facing. The city has not yet given an exact date for this, but Ma said the council is working hard to plan it.
“Youth violence is a public safety challenge that we need to make sure that we are addressing and that we’re keeping at the forefront of our mind,” Tucker said.
She said Fort Wayne isn’t unique in the problem of youth violence, but that many cities around the country have plans of their own that were used as examples to tailor a plan for Fort Wayne.
As the final leg of the plan, Tucker announced Pastor Lewis King, who left Fort Wayne last year to launch King’s Global Outreach, will be returning to the city to act as Program Manager of Community Engagement for the Fort Wayne Police Department.
Last week, Tucker invited the community to a conversation between herself, FWPD Chief Scott Caudill and community leaders on youth violence. Several parts of the conversation focused on the lack of trust between community members and the police.
“We have wonderful police officers,” Tucker said. “They’re great people, they do a great job for our city and we have a great level of respect for them. And we also realized that when they put on a uniform, some people will choose not to give information to them or share details about things they know could help reduce crime.”
Tucker said King’s role will serve to bridge the gap between the community and the police.
