[projekktor id=’21163′]
Some shocking findings tonight from a roundtable about youth at risk. Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger called for the meeting following a summer filled with gun violence and brazen acts on busy Hamilton streets, crimes committed by youth.
Those highly publicized crimes have led many to believe that youth crime is up, but the facts tell a different story.
“Youth involvement in violent crimes is down as well as in property crime as well as in drug offences. It’s down all across the board.” Said Sgt. Jon Alsbergas, from the Hamilton police services.
“All crime is down. But that doesn’t mean we accept it a element of the areas where there is crime and that’s good enough and we’ll just leave that alone and we’ll accept status quo.” said Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
As part of a city wide youth strategy, Eisenberger invited members of local youth organizations to meet at City Hall. They talked about what worked and what hasn’t when dealing with kids at risk.
“There’s a lot of issues that face youth and young people in our community that drive them to do things that we may not see as positive. For example family violence conflict abuse neglect and we know new comer youth and LGBTQ face barriers on the streets and in the community.” said Loretta Hill- Finamore, from the Good Shepard Youth Services.
Shamso Elmi, a Somali mother came to the meeting looking for help for her children. She says authorities can’t always point to poverty as the root cause of youth crime.
“As a Canadian I’m a Canadian. When I’m in Canada I’m not a poverty. When it’s a third world, that’s a poverty. But here everybody collects the welfare and child tax benefit.”
The mayor says he will be hosting a second roundtable, but it will include youth. Young people with their own ideas about how to keep our kids and our communities safe.
