Young Kansas Citians experiencing trauma from violent crime want their voices heard

Instead of telling city and state government to "stop the violence" perhaps these teens should be telling their friends, neighbors, and family members.

We've all seen the exercise where a teacher asks the class a series of questions like "who knows someone who has been impacted by violence" to demonstrate how much impact violence has on young people, a better series of questions might be "Who knows someone who has committed violence?"

No programs or laws are going to reduce inner city violence while that violence remains an accepted part of the community culture.

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Before school started, her mom picked out a shirt on Amazon that said “Proud mama of a 2024 senior,” and found similar ones for Amauri’s sister, brother, grandparents, aunts and other relatives. She let the shirts sit in her online cart for months, unsure if the family should wear them for Amauri’s senior photos or save them for graduation.

But the opportunity to stand beside her daughter for those occasions was taken from her.