JACKSONVILLE, Ark. — Community members in Jacksonville have been looking for new ways to curb violence in the city. Several people met on Monday night at a local church to not only discuss the issue but to also discuss solutions.
While Jacksonville police report a decrease in home break-ins and car thefts compared to last year, as of this June, shootings in the city were up about 10%.
Now, Jacksonville church leaders are calling on community members and one another, to bring the number of shootings down to zero.
Pastor Ricky Brown hosted the meeting at Living Water Apostolic Ministries and started by asking what people's concerns were and how they could help out the youth.
"I think it's time, the time is right now before we lose more youth into violent crimes," Pastor Brown explained.
As a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Pastor Brown said he feels the impact personally.
"Several killings over the past couple of years, and young people are leaving. Some of them are tied to my church. I have lost a couple of young men that were tied to my church through the violence of killing," he described.
At Monday's meeting, some residents like Atlantis Brown pushed to strengthen youth programming as a way to combat the violence.
"I'm hoping to see how can not only get the children's attention but actually get the parents involved. And once we have to get the parents on one accord and involved to understand the blueprint that we've laid out to try to save our youth, then everybody will be involved," he said.
While Pastor Brown recognizes efforts from police and city officials, he wants the community to be a bigger part of the conversation.
"[Officials are] doing the best they can, but it also takes the community to come together. They can't do it alone, so I think we come together. If everybody comes together, I think we can kind of help stop some of this crime," said Pastor Brown.
While Jacksonville police were not able to comment on Monday, they told us they plan to address concerns from community members in the future.