Kalamazoo youth march to end gun violence alongside Dept. of Public Safety

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Gun violence has been on the rise across the country and locally.

Communities in West Michigan are seeing more of it, including the city of Kalamazoo.

"We had four [shootings] over the weekend just on Saturday. It is just awful. We as a community are done. We are tired, and I am tired of saying that," said Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley.

It is a plea Chief Coakley with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) has had, saying that one shooting is too many.

"It is my job as the number one cop in this city to keep this city safe. It is my job, but I cannot do it alone. We have to do it together as a community. Tell your brothers, sisters, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews to put the guns down," said Chief Coakley.

He said starting young is one of the best ways to get the word out, especially as KDPS sees kids younger and younger getting ahold of guns.

"Many children in our community don’t have families at home. The street is grabbing our children. No more. We have to do something different," said Chief Coakley.

In partnership with KDPS, Urban Alliance created the LIFE Camp in hopes they can change the narrative on gun usage.

"The individuals that are pulling the trigger are getting younger and younger. They probably know individuals who are probably carrying and so forth, and maybe they can have an influence it is called peer to peer education. That is what we are trying to do here some peer to peer education," said Urban Alliance's Outreach Manager James Harris.

In addition to the "End the Gun Violence" march, kids created signs with messages, wrote letters to people involved in gun violence, and listened to speakers talk about gun safety, and the impact of using guns the wrong way.

All of this to give kids a better understanding on the negative impact guns can have.

"We have to give them a platform. Normally when we call on the city or community to rally around preventing gun violence, normally it is adults that are apart of that movement. We have to include those young people because I believe they are part of the answer," said Harris.

"We have got to do this together. If we do that, we can be better as a community, and we will be better. I believe that," said Chief Coakley.

There are still open spots for the third session of Urban Alliance's LIFE Camp. It will take place on August 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Kalamazoo's Northside neighborhood. It is free for anyone ages 11 to 16.

You can click here for more information and to sign-up.