LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville nonprofit says a nine-year-old boy permanently blinded by a gunshot sets a strong example for Youth Violence Prevention Week.
The Louisville Metro Youth Cabinet held events throughout the week for National Youth Violence Prevention Week. The community-centered campaign promotes effective strategies to prevent youth violence and find sustainable solutions to prevent gun violence. The cabinet is part of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods.
Malakai Roberts feels a skull at the Louisville Zoo on March 30, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Christopher 2X Game Changers)
Malakai Roberts is an active member of Christopher 2X Game Changers, an anti-violence organization in Louisville. He has been involved with the nonprofit and it's Future Healers, Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies and Planet Savers programs for several years.
"Malakai sets a beautiful and strong example for Youth Violence Prevention Week," Christopher 2X said in a news release. "Our organization’s kids and parents can become advocates for the need for safe and healthy kids by being
connected to positive experiences and messages like Zoo Buddies.”
In December 2020, Roberts, who was five years old, was watching a movie with his mother and brother inside his Lexington home when he was shot in the temple and lost his ability to see. Since recovering from the shooting, Malakai, who is now 8 years old, has been attending school in Lexington and the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville.
Roberts, co-authored a book "Adventures with Malakai: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work" with entertainment mogul Percy "Master P" Miller, joined the Future Healers program in 2021.
On Saturday, Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies visited the Louisville Zoo for a session focused on seals and sea lions.
According to a news release from OSHN last week, people ages 18 to 24 account for 36.1% of Louisville homicides.
The Future Healers program is an educational initiative led by Christopher 2X Game Changers, UofL Hospital Trauma Institute and students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. The goal of the program is to help Louisville children who have been impacted by violence in their neighborhoods to build a better future.
The program allows kids ages 4-to-13 affected by gun violence to get away from it all in an educational setting.
To learn more about Christopher 2X Game Changers, click here.
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