BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — After six teens were shot near Jefferson Avenue late Saturday night, we've had a lot of conversations about youth, but have we spoken to them?
That's why we sat down with three members of the Lifesavers, a youth group affiliated with the Stop the Violence Coalition that started in 2016.
"We asked our mom and our parents how come these lives are being taken so young and how come there's nothing being done to prevent these lives from being taken," said Jessica Williams.
Here's our Q&A with 7 News Reporter Taylor Epps and Jessica (16), Jalisa (15) and Yaminah Williams (10).
Taylor: What was your reaction when you heard about the shooting?
Jalisa: I felt surprised, waking up in the morning and hearing people that are your age are dying...having their lives lost so late at night...it's just shocking to hear.
Yaminah: I feel upset for the parents and for the community that had to suffer through that.
Taylor: Why do you think things like this happen?
Yaminah: Some youth know that on the news there's only negative things. So they may do these things to get attention, because they're not getting the everyday attention they might need or want.
Jessica: I think it's because there's not enough structure for our youth.
Taylor: Going forward, what needs to change?
Jalisa: I think we need more positive youth influence in our community..have youth get more involved with that and stay on top of that and maybe they can learn life lessons and do better.
Jessica: Don't diminish the people who are doing bad things because not everyone comes from a good home. There could be things they're going through internally that we overlook, I think just casting a light on youth's mental health and making more programs for mental health will help.
Yaminah: There should be way more programs, after-school programs, summer programs If our youth band together we can be really strong and do really positive things and build up our community.
Taylor: What do people need to know about youth right now?
Jessica: Understand that we need help and this is a crisis for many youth in our community and across the world that our lives are being taken and we're not living to see tomorrow.
You can listen to these girls on WUFO, Power 98.5 every first, third and fifth Sunday from 2:30-3:00 pm where they host interviews and showcase some of the positive things young people in Buffalo are doing.
