CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Champaign community members came together Monday evening to discuss a path forward to limiting gun violence in the community.
"We're here on the front line to make a difference," Banio Koroma, a community member who also runs a youth violence prevention non-profit, said. "These meetings are important so that we can get all the information together and let the community know that they are important and the community's voice does matter and that the community is heard."
Trust between community members and government services like the police and city officials was up multiple times as a way to help prevent gun violence. Community members also shared they need to have better relationships with people in their own communities.
"Instead of approaching our youth in a negative way, let's approach our youth in a positive, respectful way and we can build trust. Our youth don't trust a lot of us anymore," said Craig Williams, a Champaign community member. "Adults will walk past our young people and don't even take the time to ask them 'What's your name, how you doing, who's your family?' You know, some way or another, we have ties with each other in this community."
Community members made it clear everyone needs to step up to prevent violence.
"There was a lot of great suggestions and as a community we know that we need to start holding ourselves accountable and taking more actions," Koroma said. "[We need] to provide resources to the communities and the people that need it the most."
There are semi-regular meetings like this one that are held in Champaign and some community members are wary about whether changes will be made.
""They say the same old things over and over and then there's no action being taken, so you show some consistency, you build a bridge of trust, a lot of people will show up," Williams said.
When asked if he believes changes will be made, Williams said, "Do I believe? I believe there's a capability of making some changes."
Copyright 2024 WAND TV. All rights reserved.Â
