LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nearly one-third of the city's shootings come from gangs and group violence, but Louisville leaders are trying to combat the issue by focusing on the city's youth. 

The organizers behind Metro Louisville's Group Violence Intervention program hope conversations with known gang members in middle and high school will turn their lives around and keep them out of jail.

Sherita Smith is one of many moms grieving the loss of a loved one due to gun violence. Her son, Tyree Smith, was killed in a drive by shooting near the intersection of Dr. W.J. Hodge and Chestnut streets in September 2021 as he waited for a bus to take him to Eastern High School. Smith was not the intended target. Two other teens were also shot but survived. 

"He was everything you could ever want in a child," Smith said. "He was such a good kid. He worked. He played sports. He went to school and got good grades."

The 16-year-old's senseless killing gripped Louisville. 

Tyree Smith

Tyree Smith

Smith will never forget the last time she heard Ty's voice.

"He gave me a call at 6:18 and was like 'Mom! I'm shot! Get here!" Smith said.

It's a day that has haunted her ever since.

"I don't want anyone else to go through my pain," she said. 

Her story is one of many tragedies that Louisville officials have pushed to the forefront of young gang members' minds through a program known as Group Violence Intervention, or GVI. 

Louisville launched the program in 2020 to target gang members in an attempt to show them how gun violence impacts more than just those hit by bullets.

"The bottom line is our kids are killing kids, and we've got to find a way to fix that," said David James, Louisville's deputy mayor for emergency services, adding that GVI is a needed deterrent. 

"Thirty-percent of all of our homicides in the city of Louisville are either by gang or group violence."

Nineteen teens involved in the street life attended the last meeting, the largest group since GVI launched.

"A few of them had tears in their eyes," Smith said. 

Louisville's seen more than 610 homicides since 2020 and close to 2,000 shootings where the victim survived. GVI has been criticized for moving slowly, but Smith believes it's making a difference.

"I think the next time they have one, it'll be more kids," she said. "It's never too late to change."

James said GVI has helped keep more than 140 offenders from committing more crimes, but, ultimately, fighting gun violence and saving innocent lives starts at home.

"Sometimes, you have to know what your child is doing," James said. "Sometimes, you have to tell them no."

Smith said youth need to be constantly reminded "if you don't stop, there's gonna be consequences. You don't want to spend the rest of your life behind bars."

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