CHAMPAIGN – Recent shootings in Champaign prompted city officials to host a community gun violence response meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the YMCA’s “Y on the Fly” location on Springfield Ave.
The shootings occurred near Country Brook Apartments in the past month, said Jorge Elvir, the safety and justice manager for the city of Champaign’s equity and engagement department.
“We wanted to come out to the community, engage with the community, provide them with information, support and other services that are available to them,” Elvir said.
An IPM News analysis of data posted on the city of Champaign’s website shows the number of people struck by gunfire from January through August this year is up about 33% compared to the same timeframe last year, and the number of shooting incidents is up about 12%.
In Feb. 2022, the City Council approved the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint, and the gun violence response meetings are a part of the blueprint, Elvir said. At Tuesday’s meeting, attendees discussed solutions in small groups and as a whole, prompted by several questions:
- What are you experiencing in your neighborhood?
- What are your observations about your neighborhood?
- What are some specific situations, interactions, times of day, where you feel the quality of life in the neighborhood is diminished or unsafe?
A handful of community members were in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting. Among them, three teens who are H3 Youth Ambassadors, a part of the H3 coalition, a group aimed at reducing violence in communities.
Tyshawn Clark, 18, said he appreciated being in attendance at this meeting, saying, “it really gave me a space where I could talk.”
Clark believes there are solutions to the problem of rising violence in the area.
“We can show the youth that we really care and we want to make a change,” he said.
He said some people in the community may feel lost due to their difficult situations. Clark said young people in the area would benefit from more opportunities to spend time together in safe spaces.
“I feel like there should be way more community programs that help lost children or lost people,” he said.
He said Champaign teens would also benefit from having more job opportunities.
Lavona Washington, 14, another H3 Youth Ambassador, said she wants to advocate for the city and help. She said there are kids in the Champaign area who fall into the wrong groups and end up getting into trouble.
She said she felt Tuesday’s discussions were productive.
“It helped me think more,” Washington said. “They really pushed my thinking to another level.”
Washington said she has personally been affected by gun violence and wants to “put it to a stop now.”
“People and families don’t deserve to be dying, and this happens all across the world.” she said.
Washington wants to see more groups for young girls that teach them to not give into peer pressure.
“Don’t fall into the wrong groups, and always put yourself first,” she said.
She wants girls her age to know, “It’s okay to use your voice.”
Both Washington and Clark said violence in the community is heavily influenced by social media.
As the meeting came to a close, Jorge Elvir said: “We are going to stop something tonight.”
He said if the youth in attendance could get a group of people together, the city would provide the resources to support programming for them.