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A nonprofit organization in Butler County is using mentorship and after school programs to reduce incidents of gun violence among youth.
Hamilton Young People Empowered began six years ago, with its goal being to help teens become involved in the community and learn skills such as personal development, financial literacy and job readiness, said Pastor Shaquila Mathews, who founded the organization.
Since then, the nonprofit has evolved to offer sports, music, study and mentorship programs, becoming a refuge for teens who want to get away from negative home environments.
Mathews said many of those programs came from noticing needs in the community and noticing that teens don t really have a place to really be, because a lot of organizations they age out at like 12 and 13, so there s nowhere else for them to go.
the capitol. this is the trump international hotel where we know the president likes to frequent for some time away from the white house. here is some other folks, what s your name? malachi. reporter: why are you out here today? for gun violence. reporter: gun restrictions? yeah. reporter: when you saw what happened in florida, the 17 young people who lost their lives, what did you think? i thought it was a terrible thing and it should never happen again. reporter: never again. thank you so much, malachai. let s swing back around this way from where the march is actually happening. as far as the eye can see, brian, human beings. the inauguration, the women s march, this is like nothing i ve seen before, young people empowered, brian.