GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A moment to change a young person's life — that's the mission with Urban League's Cure Violence program in Grand Rapids.
For the first time ever, they started a Cure Violence teen summit. I spoke to one young man about why this level of care is making a difference.
"One of the reasons we are here today is to talk about conflict resolution," Pastor Darryl Gaddy said.
Dezmond Dudley was among the many students participating in the Cure Violence Teen Summit.
"I think it's helpful, because some of these kids never were told that, 'Hey, you don't need a gun to protect yourself.' You don't need to walk around and harm other people," Dudley said.
When Dudley was 14 years old, he remembers losing a neighbor to gun violence.
"I was kind of shocked, because he was a pretty normal guy, but once again, he was hanging around the wrong people and in the wrong circumstances and got murdered," Dudley said.
Urban League of West Michigan, Cure Violence brought together a number of people wanting to make a difference in these young people's lives at Covenant High School.
"To end gun violence, and focus on conflict resolution, focus on opportunities for young people to realize their full potential. There's a number of different ways we can do that," Cure Violence Site Director Jeff Ridgeway said.
Students learned how to handle conflicts without resorting to violence, heard about career advancement opportunities and participated in activities focused on uplifting them.
"Sometimes youth don't know that there's opportunities, or road maps of how to get there, or the end road to get that. We're providing that for them here through Covenant High School," Ridgeway said.
Dudley is thrilled to have a road map in front of him.
"That's why I'm here at Covenant and I go to Job Corps too. I'm trying to get a trade. I'm just trying to do better and not be around just ridiculousness, because at the end of the day, you only get one life. You only get one life, so use it wisely," Dudley said.
Cure Violence explains that this Teen Summit leads to building mentorships between teens and their older neighbors. The organization plans on holding another summit in 2026
