Five people were shot in Rochester Tuesday night in two separate shootings, and Rochester Police Department Deputy Chief Joe Morabito says the recent spike in violence is concerning.
"We’re working extremely hard, 24/7, to try and get ahead of these acts of violence. It’s just most of them are very senseless, no good reason why they’re going after each other here," Morabito says.
He says while year-to-year comparisons are complicated, violence is up from this time last year; something he says might be attributed, in part, to COVID-19.
"Most folks outlets are taken away right now, based on the COVID issue. You know, the rec centers are closed, the Boys and Girls Club is closed. There’s no professional basketball going on right now where we’d be in the heat of playoff season," Morabito adds.
That’s why organizations like Teen Empowerment are stepping up to get creative during this difficult time.
"That’s why we hire the young people, their power and strength. They're already tapped into the tech, right? The phone, the Instagram, the Facebook, the Snapchat, the Tik Tok, so it’s been cool. We’ve been really leaning on them," Shawn Brown, Teen Empowerment Program Director, says.
The non-profit hires and pays teens to organize events and community outreach programs for the youth in the community.
"To combat racism, violence, young people feeling voiceless. All the stuff going on with the school district...really giving them a platform where they can share their public opinions and change how people think and feel around the community," Brown continues.
Though COVID-19 has changed how they do that, events are still being organized and are happening via platforms like Zoom, such as virtual yoga.
"The same issues that were plaguing young people in our community before the coronavirus have only been exacerbated since the coronavirus. So young people need to be connected, still use their voice to organize and check in on their peers and friends and classmates," Brown adds.
Teen Empowerment Director Doug Ackley says there are a lot of complicated issues that drive violence.
"Violence comes from hopelessness and powerlessness. So what we try to do is infuse hope into young people, and give them an opportunity to think about their community and what they can do about it," Ackley says.
Which is why giving teens a voice is critical.
"We can all come up with ideas, but without young folks in the room, when their energy and ideas and creativity is in the room, our solutions change. They become better and they become stronger," Ackley adds.