CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Hampton Roads mayors invited anti-violence activists to the table for 2024's first "Hampton Roads Mayors and Chief Administrative Officers Violence Prevention Work Session."
Advocates immediately told city leaders they needed more support.
"Most of these kids do not want to kill, they just do not want to die," said one activist.
Those in attendance painted a grim picture of young people living near poverty levels who face generational trauma that is only aggravated by gang violence and rampant drug use.
Organizations such as "League of Advocates," and "Ketchmore Kids" said they are making progress, but they need more funding to do it.
"We take them to the mall, we give them money for dinner, then they turn to us when the real issues come up," said Troy Ketchmore, with Ketchmore Kids. "They will trust an older brother, then we lead them in the right direction."
Mayors from Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Chesapeake listened to advocates for several hours and agreed more work needs to be done.
2023 marked 197 homicides this year. It's the fewest seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some cities set records within their city limits.
13News Now records show Newport News set a record of 45 homicides for 2023, and Hampton saw a slight increase with 29 homicides.
Donnie Tuck, Mayor of Hampton, said the cities need to set the path forward in fighting this violence, but families also need to enforce it at home.
"There's unresolved trauma and family dysfunction that these kids are growing up in, to get them to this next step of being wonderful contributing citizens - you've got to deal with this problem over here," said Tuck.
Hampton Roads mayors said they plan to hold future meetings to allocate more funding for these groups. They also want to include more adults who have turned their lives around to become role models for struggling teens and adults.
More meetings are planned throughout the rest of the year.