WFAE Mourners lit candles in remembrance of Butler High school student Bobby McKeithen, who was killed by another student who brought a gun to school in 2018.
The Mecklenburg County Health Department is moving forward with plans to establish a violence interruption program in hopes of stemming violent crime, especially gun violence, in Charlotte.
Plans for the program have been in the works since January 2020, but its rollout was delayed by the pandemic. The county now says it has selected a national nonprofit called Youth Advocate Programs to implement the program and hire its staff in the coming weeks.
Mecklenburg County s deputy health director, Raynard Washington, says the goal is to hire five to seven full-time violence interrupters plus two caseworkers and initially focus on the Beatties Ford Road and Lasalle Street corridor.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 6, 2021) – The City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County on Tuesday announced that Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) has been selected as the vendor for Cure Violence implementation. Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. was one of four organizations to submit proposals to the city’s Request for Proposals. The organization has a track record of success in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, and this partnership will allow YAP to continue its good work here in the community. “YAP has been working with the County’s Department of Criminal Justice Services’ Youth Recovery Court and Youth and Family Services since 2019 and has been an invaluable partner to us and the families that they have served,” said Raynard Washington, Mecklenburg County Deputy Health Director. “We are excited to utilize their experience in violence interruption and existing knowledge of our community to better address our residents’ needs.”
In response to complaints about police brutality and calls for a different kind of law enforcement, Dallas City Council members Monday heard about plans for new.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt and City Council member Malcolm Graham join Mike Collins to discuss some of the most important issues facing the city.
This week, City Council voted to spend an additional $5 million on resources for homeless residents. Some of the money will be used to provide a year of housing for 75 people who lived in the encampment near uptown that became known as Tent City, and part of the funding will be allotted to The Salvation Army to lease a hotel that will shelter up to 100 families per night.
While there has been a 16% decrease in overall crime compared to this time last year, gun-related assault is up more than 30%. The city recently announced a new partnership with Youth Advocate Programs to implement violence prevention techniques similar to those used in cities like Atlanta and Chicago.