Youth violence kills and injures. Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24. Each day, about 14 young people are victims of homicide and about 1,300 are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal assault-related injuries.

Youth violence is costly. Youth homicides and nonfatal physical assault-related injuries result in more than $21 billion annually in combined medical and lost productivity costs alone, not including costs associated with the criminal justice system, psychological and social consequences for victims, perpetrators and their families, or costs incurred by communities, according to the CDC. Video

Far too many young, murdered victim's voices are crying out from the grave through their parents' pain and anguish. These parents are looking for someone to listen to them and to take a stance against the senseless violence which is occurring in our streets.

Seeing the image of a violent young adult makes it hard to imagine the innocent baby he or she once was, or that eager first grader proudly entering the school doors for the first time. Imagine the child who upon seeing a scary movie, cries or cringes, yet, that same innocent child could one day pull out a gun, knife or other weapon of choice to take the life of another human-being. Many times, when the life is taken, it is for a senseless reason.

Please mark your calendar for the Elephants in the Park event on June 28, 2019 at Marquette Park in Memphis as we shed light on how we can address this problem of youth violence.  Our youth are our future, that is, if they are allowed to live long enough to take their place in a society that will need their contributions.