PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council members on Tuesday introduced their own plan for combating violent crime, which calls for an increase in city spending to tackle the problem.
Flanked by colleagues and advocates, Councilmember Helen Gym released what she called a “youth-powered anti-violence agenda” that puts the focus on people under the age of 21 in the communities where the number of shootings is highest. Council members and advocates say most youth shootings are clustered in just 10 Philadelphia ZIP codes and 25 public schools.
They proposed a budget of $100 million for violence prevention, with at least half of that dedicated to youth programs, Gym said. The initiative would fund programs such as guaranteed employment, universal trauma counseling, expanded access to rec centers and more resources in schools.
“We are calling on the City of Philadelphia to allocate a minimum — a minimum — of $50 million toward specific youth-oriented anti-violence efforts,” Gym added.
“We are demanding not only extended recreation hours in those ZIP codes that are most impacted, with full trauma and mental health deployment. We want targeted funding of youth-serving organizations in these ZIP codes. We want safe housing and youth re-engagement efforts in schools and programming.”
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Mayor Jim Kenney has proposed $34 million for anti-violence efforts in his budget. In a statement, his office said he looks forward to budget negotiations and is pleased that council’s plan includes many of the efforts already underway, including more youth summer jobs and rec programs.
Council members said most of the city’s efforts are focused on 18- to 34-year-olds, but Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson said victims are getting younger and younger.
“They are predominately juveniles, either being victims or shooters. That tells you something is wrong with our strategy,” he said.
Council members said their plan is based on research, public hearings and meetings with young people directly.