LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city is in the midst of a "crisis of gun violence" during a speech to a group gathered in downtown Louisville on Tuesday.
The mayor spoke during the Violence Reduction Summit at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville. In addition to local government leaders, the summit is being attended by more than 100 changemakers across Louisville.
“We have a crisis of gun violence,” -@LouisvilleMayor says to room full of change makers gathered at Muhammad Ali Center for Violence Reduction Summit. pic.twitter.com/vxZFoiyZ7D
— Amanda Roberts (@ARobertsNews) March 28, 2023
They're putting their minds and skill sets together to see how to start solving this violent crime.
The violence reduction summit will continue for the next few days with the goal of bringing together people from all experiences and sectors who have also been affected by gun violence.
That also includes members of Louisville metro government.
Greenberg said the first thing on the agenda is to make improvements to the Louisville Metro Police Department, but said much more work needs to be done.
"And we know we have to do more," Greenberg said. "Whether we've lost someone in our family or not, we're here because we've had enough — more than enough — of these tragedies and we know we have to do more."
April Ralston is taking part in the summit. She lost her son to gun violence earlier this year. Ralston is now serving as the program director for the Galilee Community Development Corporation, where she is helping develop a program designed to get kids involved in activities and camps to steer them away from the streets and gun violence.
Ralston said they also hope to help young people develop skills so they can break generational trauma they see in their lives, like violent shootings.
"My son was shot seven times," Ralston said. "He actually passed away July the 17th, so I've had to walk that walk, and I understand. ... So that's why I can attest to people. People say that it's the parents. I was a great mother. I did everything I could do with the resources that I had. Maybe if we had more, maybe if we knew more."
Ralston said more resources, along with more education and outreach, need to be made available to the people who need them the most.
Louisville native Shanee Howard is also attending the summit.
"Somebody did get shot, I'm not sure who it was," said Howard. "And there was a little girl that I played with, and one evening there was a shooting there and my mom wouldn't let me play with her anymore."
While she eventually moved east, Howard grew up in west Louisville, where she still has friends, family and memories.
"We were home that evening and my mom told me and my sister to get down on the ground and be quiet and stay down, stay down, until everything stopped and the police came and the ambulance came," Howard said.
She said she's more motivated now more than ever to do her part to reduce gun violence in her hometown.
"I have two teenage boys, 14 and 12, and so the violence that's happening in the city all across is really concerning for me as a mother," she said.
Aside from city leaders and families impacted by violence, there were those in attendance at Tuesday's summit who brought different perspectives to the table, including one who has lived the lifestyle they're trying to change.
"I have 30 years experience when it comes to being a felon," said Demetrius McDowell.
McDowell admits that for years, he was part of the problem he's now trying to help solve and takes ownership for some of the crime that continues to happen on the streets of Louisville.
"I've played a part in a lot of wrongdoing that has been going on," he said. "It was something that I put in the streets, that one of these young fellas or females emulated, you know, picked up and ran with."
But several years ago, McDowell was motivated to change his life.
"I had come to the conclusion that either I'm gonna die out here, or I'm going to penitentiary for the rest of my life," he said.
Instead, he got off the streets and started his own nonprofit, "Bosses not Bangers."
"You know, it's better to be a boss standing as an individual, come with responsibility versus a gangbanger," he said. "You'd have to be without the individuals."
Since starting his nonprofit, McDowell has helped mentor and turn at least a dozen lives around.
"And it's my job, my duty, to come out here and try to write some of the wrongs and staring down the right path," he said.
At the summit Tuesday, McDowell received an award for his work.
"I'm a product of change, and it's possible," he said.
McDowell said he's glad the city is being proactive, but believes he's uniquely qualified to have a seat at the table.
"It's a little discouraging to have an educated person tell you that you need to do the right thing and they don't come from where you come from," he said.
The summit will resume Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
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