An initiative to prevent youth violence in Mobile is partnering with the Parks and Recreation Department to expand services and reach a younger audience.
Public Safety Director Rob Lasky addressed rumors Tuesday that the Youth Violence Prevention Program was being discontinued.
"Our youth anti-violence program is not being discontinued," Lasky said. "It is being changed a little bit. We are partnering a lot more with Parks and Rec."
Lasky said the Public Safety Department was already working alongside Parks and Recreation, and the expansion will bring the two departments together to reach more of the city's youth.
"We've decided to partner more with Parks and Rec, including providing programs during their summer camps, doing things jointly together, saving time, money, and effort and reaching a lot more kids than we previously had," he added.
Programs being expanded are the Bridging the Gap Program, which builds trust between the community and law enforcement, and the SCORE (Second Chance or Else) Program, a drug market intervention initiative.
Lasky said he has met with other officials to ensure the programs interact more with youth.
Youth violence has been a concern among residents and city leaders following several incidents that have claimed the lives of young people across the city. A nine-year-old was killed in December in a drive-by shooting, two teens were shot at LeFlore Magnet High School in January, and an 18-year-old accidentally shot and killed his 13-year-old cousin in March.
Mobile Police Sgt. John Young helped start the Men United Against Violence organization in response to shootings he has seen claim young lives.
The Youth Violence Prevention program started in March 2022.
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