LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – City leaders gathered Tuesday to come up with solutions to the city’s violence and discuss data revealed in a new, 2023 report from Greater Louisville Project’s Safer City.
Data showed that the city’s youth are disproportionately impacted by the violence and makeup 50% of individuals who commit homicide.
Youth homicides rose from 20 in 2018 to 60 in 2021. Of those 60 victims, 48 were young Black men, according to the report.
Mayor Craig Greenberg said this is his administration’s top priority.
“We need more programming for our kids, so we don’t lose them to a life of crime,” Greenberg said. “Right here in Louisville, last night, a 15-year-old child was shot in the head. I know it’s graphic. But we need to deal with the reality and these real stories.”
Louisville ranked 14th among its 16 peer cities with the highest number of youth homicides, making Louisville the second-largest increase in young deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data Scientist Harrison Kirby pointed out how policy, family, peers, and schools all play a role in violence.
Louisville has the highest rate among its peers of Black residents between ages 15 and 24 who are not employed and not in school, the report said.
“We must address a major issue, which is poverty,” JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Polio said. “We must look at poverty as the issue here.”
Polio highlighted seven out of 10 students are on free and reduced lunch. Nearly half of the students are chronically absent.
According to the report, Louisville has seen a decline in investment in youth-focused departments through the metro government, from a peak of $46 million in 2011 to a low of $22 million in 2021.
The question left on the floor was how leaders plan to fund change once federal funding is used up in 2024.
“You can’t look at their map and go well that only happens over there,” Deputy Mayor David James said. “So that is not my problem. And so if we don’t believe that it’s our problem as a city, then we don’t have a city.”
Greenberg said he plans to roll out detailed steps on how he will invest in youth violence prevention programming and crack down on illegal guns in the coming weeks.
To view the full report, click or tap here.
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