By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Community leaders, law enforcement officials and youth advocates delivered a unified call for emotional awareness, redemption and shared responsibility at Houston’s “Stop the Violence Youth Seminar” held Saturday in the Third Ward.
Homicide remains a leading cause of death for Houston youth, with rates more than nine times higher for Black males ages 15 to 24 than their white peers, according to a youth violence profile published by the Houston Health Department. Investigator Lance Watkins of the Baytown Police Department opened the program by addressing the realities behind violence. What we can do is reduce it,” he emphasized. Watkins urged attendees to recognize the role emotional regulation plays in preventing harm. “If you don’t understand your emotions, other people can control you.”
Watkins said he hopes the seminar motivates continued community involvement. “Our young people can be whatever they want to become. They just need the opportunity,” he said. The seminar also featured testimony from Leroy ThaThird, a comedian and mentor who spoke openly about being incarcerated as a teenager. He challenged youth to rethink what strength looks like. “Violence is not strength. Real strength is walking away,” he explained. “The biggest punchline in life is redemption.”
Event MC and Youth Violence & Conflict Resolution instructor Karataza Israel stressed that preventing violence requires a unified community effort. “It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “It’s the neighbors, the teachers, the officers, everyone who takes a point to raise that child.” He encouraged residents to rebuild connections by “gathering ourselves together, getting to know one another, learning from one another, teaching and training one another, and then also training our children.”
Instructor Irama Israel closed the event by calling on adults to take greater responsibility for the examples they set. “Your children are watching your actions. They learn through your behavior,” he said. “If we want our children to be fixed, we must fix ourselves as parents.
The Youth Violence and Conflict Resolution organization is dedicated to empowering and inspiring today’s youth to create change in their communities. For more information, contact info@youthviolencecr.org.
