The state is looking to fight gun violence with employment. More than 900 jobs are now available for at-risk youth in certain areas of Western New York.

The state is giving the city money to create summer jobs for young people ages 15 – 24 who live in several specific zip codes, 530 jobs for Buffalo zip codes, 45 for Jamestown, and 50 for Niagara Falls.

The goal is to keep them employed until the start of the school year. The program will also provide job training and help place them in long-term jobs.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul says this is an opportunity for young people to turn their lives around.

“If you don’t live in an environment where you see parents get up and go to work every day, and it’s not part of your upbringing, you may have a dysfunctional home, you may have violence in the family, you may have a mom or father who are absentee, don’t assume they know how to get that job,” Hochul said. “So we’re identifying individuals in these neighborhoods to help them. It gives them an alternative to life in the streets, the alternative to ending up in a morgue themselves or ending up incarcerated.”

The state also hopes to create summer programs for young people at various state parks and expand community services and assistance for mental health support.