DETROIT (WXYZ) — A community took to the streets as a call to come together. Walk A Mile Wednesday’s, one of Detroit Police Department Chief James White’s community initiatives, has become a weekly tradition when the weather gets warmer.
“We're always happy when we can have an impact on a kid's life, have the children come with us, not be afraid of the police, working with the police and know we’re part of the community in which we serve,” White said.
On Wednesday, White kicked off the season in the 11th Precinct. Police officers, young families and the entire community all came together, hoping for a better path forward.
“You have these young people out — I think that’s a very important step for us to have great relationships,” said Louis Forsythe, who was participating in the walk.
Young people are one of the focuses after a weekend of violence. Police were enforcing curfews for minors, especially with multiple young people shot in the last week.
Before the chief's walk, he and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan were joined by local and federal officials announcing the One Detroit partnership, a plan focused on enforcement, intervention and re-entry. But a key piece is prevention before it’s too late.
“We have more individuals carrying illegal weapons, more young people in this country than we’ve ever seen," Duggan said. "The point at which someone sticks an illegal weapon under their belt and heads out of the house — we’ve lost.”
That’s where organizations like Matrix Human Services step in. They’ve been in the community for over 100 years working with kids and adults to address trauma before it’s too late.
“Our main goal of the organization is to give people hope,” said Brian Coulter, CEO of Matrix Human Services. “Making sure kids have positive outlets is crucial to addressing some of these problems.”
"The younger a child is, the more sponge-like their brains are," Stacy Johnson with Trauma Smart said. "They’re absorbing the trauma around them. If they come from a household with a lot of dysregulation and stress, that impacts a child’s brain.”
Matrix offers basketball programs, boxing and other activities, teaching invaluable skills along the way.
“We work with children and we work with teens to help them get those coping skills, help them de-escalate, teach them relaxation skills,” Coulter said.
Those skills are crucial to stopping gun violence among young people, an issue the community and police hope to solve one step at a time.
“You got to put these guns down. We’re not going to tolerate it," White said. “It's important that these folks behind me remain safe all summer and beyond summer."
You can learn more about Matrix Human Services visit their website.
