As one year passes on A Path Forward, key contributors like Kentwood City Commissioner, Clarkston Morgan explain the real work is in community involvement and the future is in forming a youth council.
“A lot of times we see so much news, so much bad,” Morgan said Thursday. “Right now [our youth] are going through things… and we need to better understand that,”
It has been our honor at FOX 17 to highlight those with boots on the ground in the community. Organizations and people working to reduce youth violence, uplift under-represented voices, and move West Michigan towards safer, successful futures.
And understanding only comes when the voices of those living in a situation are heard.
“On A Path Forward we're looking to do is create a youth counsel to better understand from their perspective,” Morgan explained. “Not just us as individuals talking about ‘this needs to be done’ but asking the question ‘What do you see? What are we missing the target on? What do we need to do better on? How do we need to address things?'”
A Path Forward’s youth counsel is still in its infancy and will benefit from young voices stepping up and reaching out to make real change in their communities.
If you’d like to highlight an organization or person working to push us all along A Path Forward, please reach out via email at apathforward@fox17online.com, or check the A Path Forward Community Resources page!
More stories of triumphs in our community’s fight against youth crime can be found here.