ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Ten people were shot over the weekend, three of them killed, and as Rochester Police step up specialized details in the neighborhoods hardest hit by the violence, the City of Rochester is investing in programs to try and lure young people away from a life of crime.
Vic Saunders, a special advisor for Rochester Mayor Malik Evans in the area of Violence Intervention and Prevention. He told News10NBC his teams had increased street outreach in the past few weeks.
“Being out in the streets, in the community, going to the R-centers, talking to parents,” he says.
This program is designed to keep kids occupied by connecting them with local programs.
“Depending on the needs of those young people, we try and find situations that they can thrive in,” Saunders says.
But there are plenty of teens and young adults who are not thriving, who’ve had run-ins with the law or who are already affiliated with gangs. They connect them to Community Resource Collaborative programs when they reach out.
“We want to make sure that not only are they getting a job skill set, but if they have food insecurity, they’re taken care of. If they have transportation needs, that’s taken care of through Uber. We will provide childcare, washing machine and dryers, working bathrooms, and hygiene items. Let’s take care of our human and our basic needs first,” explains CRC Executive Director Tina Paradiso.
If a person can’t stay in Rochester for safety reasons, CRC will relocate them. The nonprofit will provide whatever assistance they need to make a change in their life if the person can remain.
It all starts by giving participants a job that pays.
“We actually do manufacturing, we do embroidery and we do direct-to-garment printing,” Paradiso explains.
The men and women who participate also get group therapy, tutoring, art therapy and other transitional help while they’re on the job.
“Sometimes they’re young people that might be beefing on the streets, but they come in here and realize they actually have a lot in common,” Paradiso explains.
Many times, it’s the stability they need to make a different life choice.
But even if it’s not, “success is maintaining communication. So, I don’t ever judge. We need to get on with it. What I want to continue to do is stay in contact with you because I want to see you alive,” Paradiso says.
CRC received $133,333 from the City of Rochester for this project and another $25,000 to support workforce development.