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Meeting seeks answers to youth violence
Youth violence in Cobb County was on the minds of those attending a meeting in Austell on Thursday evening. Teens were in attendance to have a frank conversation on the subject.
AUSTELL, Ga. - Violence in the community was the topic of a town hall in Austell on Thursday night, but this time teens were doing the talking.
"The drugs, the fights, more drugs, gossiping, it's a lot, really a lot," said Shilom Zachery and Amoni Martin, both high school students.
Inside the Beacon of Light Church, adults heard from high school and middle school students about what they see in school and on the streets.
The meeting comes after several violent incidents over the past few months. From the chaos and gunfire at Six Flags to the shooting in the parking lot at McEachern High School: all these were treated as several violent incidents over the past few months.
"The recent violence we've seen in Cobb County involved a lot of young people, so we wanted to sit down tonight and get into their heads. Obviously, what we've been doing has not been working. So now it's time to get the kids involved," said Austell Police Chief Scott Hamilton.
Students were open and honest and said they need help.
"We are having a lot of mental problems as high schoolers and middle schoolers," said Martin.
"Their emotions might get the best of them, and they make the choices they're making, which is sometimes having bad consequences or even losing a life," said Delores Powell, a community activist who organized the meeting.
Students say it's important for adults to truly listen and understand what kids are feeling.
"You don't know what they're going through, you got to find the source of it and help them understand and break it down and unravel their problems without feeling like they have to be violent about it," said Zachery.
Students say having younger mentors would help, because they say many parents and teachers can't relate to what they're going through.
"It's different in this generation now because everything is so crazy," said Zachery.