BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo city leaders, police, and community members gathered Wednesday night following a violent holiday weekend that left 11 people hurt in six separate shootings.
City of Buffalo Common Councilmember Zeneta Everhart, President Pro Tempore and representative of the Masten District, hosted an emergency strategy session at Mount Olive Baptist Church alongside the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The meeting focused on identifying alternatives for teens and young adults and on dedicating space for youth groups, young people, and parents to share their needs.
"Where they can actually sit down and say as a parent, this is what I need, this is what's missing, and as a young person, they can tell us these are the things we want to see happening in our community," Everhart said.
Everhart said the lack of engagement with young people is at the heart of the problem.
"We have these young people who are looking for entertainment, they're looking for things to do, and no one's actually sitting at a table with them and saying, let me help you," Everhart said.
Representatives from organizations across the city were present at the session. Buffalo Police Department Commissioner Erika Shields also attended, emphasizing the need to hear directly from young people.
"As adults, we all know what we want to see, but what are the young people experiencing day in and day out that is driving this behavior and prompting this behavior? Not that they were personally involved in it, but we have to get their perspective, and I really hope that we can come away with some actionable solutions that we can move forward on," Shields said.
Leroy Avenue Block Club President Rogerleen Williamson spoke with most of the young people at her table and said their message was clear.
"They want to be heard, but they also want to have groups where the community centers are opening up just like they mentioned the fact that the basketball hoops were gone, and that's part of their activity, so you have to listen to that. They have a right to want things too," Williamson said.
Kids, teens, and young adults also took time to share their vision for a better future. Buffalo native Katie Tribble said the sense of community she experiences elsewhere is often missing at home.
"The community that I see in my college spaces, is a lot stronger than sometimes the community feels like when I'm here in Buffalo and I come back," Tribble said.
Tribble added that the lack of activities during the summer contributes to broader safety concerns.
"It's definitely like very lonely in the summer here if you don't have things to do, and I could see how that's like a very big issue for a community like health and safety," Tribble said.
Buffalo native Antonio Watts called for more recreational opportunities.
"More sports events, before COVID, we used to have a lot of community centers. We always used to come together as sports events, more pools, all the pools closed down. Most of the parks are all shut down, stuff like that, be able to get us outside and feel like there's something for us to do and not just go to work," Watts said.
Buffalo native Jaiden Gilbert said directing more funding toward prevention organizations could make a meaningful difference.
"If more funding was put towards associations that stop that or at least put a heavy dent in it, a lot less events like this could happen and it could lead to a lot more positive impact where, I wouldn't have to worry about warning any friends or family," Gilbert said.
During the meeting, Commissioner Shields provided an update on the investigation into the holiday weekend shootings. She said the department is making progress and anticipates an arrest of the event promoter and other individuals involved. Shields said arrests will be made but could not yet confirm how many.
