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Forsyth Group Considers Programs To Reduce Gun And Gang Violence

Winston-Salem and Forsyth County community leaders are looking at crime prevention and intervention programs for youth. KERI BROWN/WFDD

Local officials are looking at ways to reduce the amount of gun and gang-related violence in Forsyth County. They're considering several intervention programs for troubled youth.

The Forsyth County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council approved its recommended budget of $940,000 for the new fiscal year.

The group is part of a state mandate to reduce and prevent juvenile crime. Community members are appointed by county commissioners to serve on the council. 

The council's new budget includes money to support programs for vocational training, mentoring, trauma assessment, and counseling for kids who are at risk of delinquency or in the juvenile justice system.

There's also a separate pot of money from the county to address gun and gang-related violence. It's $400,000 and how that money will be used is still being decided.

Rich Smith is with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and is a consultant for the council. He says there also needs to be a focus on issues beyond youth violence. 

“If we use that $400,000 just to address juvenile gang issues then we would be missing out on that adult population,” he says.

A nonprofit known as Forsyth Futures says there were more than 600 gang members in the county in December of 2020 based on local law enforcement data. 

The Forsyth County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council's recommended budget will head to the county board of commissioners for review and approval.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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