A cross, fishing pole, flowers and other items remain at a memorial for Isaac Rodriguez, 15, and his best friend Diego Herrera-Mejia, 16, who were killed on West Manitoba Street on the South Side in June. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
By Edgar Mendez
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
We asked you what can be done to stop youth homicides in Milwaukee County, where 40 children ages 17 and younger have been victims of homicide since 2023, according to data from the Medical Examiner’s Office.
(Minors represented 13% of all homicide victims in Milwaukee County since the beginning of last year.)
Here’s what you said.
Kids need ‘something to do’
Name: Jimmy Durant
Neighborhood: North Division
“Opening up some trade centers gives [young people] something to do after school and something they can make money doing. As a father, I feel if the kids would have something to do and make money, they wouldn’t be out there trying to rob. A lot of times they do stuff because they have nothing to do.”
‘We don’t know what the youths are thinking‘
Name: Keitha Bradley spoke to her 16-year-old son Eric
Neighborhood: Hillside
“He said the youth are in need of structure, a positive environment, more opportunities and male role models. Likewise, most youth don’t have a father involved or a positive male role model and not enough opportunities. He said he is lucky for opportunities due to his school. He mentioned that his school exposed him and involved him in various positive opportunities. As adults, we can assume, but we don’t know what the youths are thinking.”
‘Supporting people from a young age‘
Name: Zoe Whorrall
Neighborhood: Arlington Gardens
“Reduce access to guns, provide information to parents about the dangers of unlocked guns. Address reckless driving by supporting people from a young age with mental health and social and emotional struggles.”
‘Have harsher punishments’
Name: Rosario Lopez
Neighborhood: South Side
“Find a way to punish the people who have guns and have harsher punishments. I moved to the South Side 36 years ago from Guanajuato, Mexico, and things have changed so much during that time. There’s a lot of insecurity in the neighborhood, and it’s sad for the new generation that our streets are unclean and our properties are stolen.”
‘Kids need support and nurturing’
Name: Warren Enstrom
Neighborhood: Sherman Park
“Redirect the funding from police to social services, community centers and youth enrichment programs. We currently are running a school-to-prison pipeline, and we need to fix that! Kids need support and nurturing, not a lack of opportunities.”
‘Kids have too much time alone’
Name: Maxine Benton McHenry
Neighborhood: Uptown
“All the programs for teens are no longer. Parents need help. Kids have too much time alone while parents are working. A program must be started to keep them off the streets.”
‘We need parents to start acting like parents’
Name: Natasha Molla
Neighborhood: Walker’s Point
“We need more after-school programs and also we need parents to start acting like parents and not friends. What saved me was the Latino Community Center. Parents really have to start telling their kids that with your actions comes with consequences.”
How we reported this story
We reached out to subscribers of News 414, our service journalism initiative that addresses the specific issues identified by residents, and other readers of NNS to ask them to share, in their own words, what can be done to stop the rise in youth violence in Milwaukee County.
Local Youth Violence Prevention Resources
Name: Project Ujima
Phone: 414-266-2557
What it does: Project Ujima is a community program that helps victims of violence and provides services at Children’s Wisconsin, your home, and the community.
Name: 414 LIFE MKE
Phone: 414-439-5525
What it does: 414 Life is a violence interruption team based in Milwaukee. Our goals are to stop the spread of gun violence through de-escalation and mediation of conflicts and educating the public to change the norms around gun violence.
Name: Credible Messenger Program
Phone: 414-257-7721
What it does: The goal of Credible Messenger’s transformative mentoring is to provide prevention and intervention with youth, keeping them from both entering the Youth Justice System or having deeper involvement with the Youth Justice System.
Name: Office of Community Wellness and Safety
Phone: 414-286-5468
What it does: The office supports various violence prevention initiatives in the City of Milwaukee.
Name: Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Phone: 414-267-8100
Address: 1558 N. 6th St.
What it does: The organization serves thousands of youths daily in Milwaukee through a variety of academic and recreational programming.
Name: Kids Matter Inc.
Phone: 414-344-1220
Address: 1850 N. MLK Jr Drive #202
What it does: The organization helps abused and neglected children heal and thrive while also providing support to foster and kinship children to help prevent further child abuse.