ROANOKE, Va. – The initial goal of the Youth and Gang Violence program started off simple.
“Keep the youth from being shot, keep the youth from shooting each other and keep the youth out of jail,” outreach worker Jabari Webb said.
However, it has evolved to become something more, dealing with kids educationally, judicially, environmentally and communally in Roanoke City.
Started by Christopher Roberts in 2021, there are currently 29 kids under 18 in the program and five between the ages of 18-23. Kids are either self-referred or sent by the courts. Then, the intake process starts.
“We’ll come in, get to know the kid, get to know the reasons why they have been put in probation over the course or what’s going on in the home or the community that brought them to us,” outreach worker Marques Wilson.
A series of questions helps outreach workers like Marques Wilson get to know them better
“Those ten questions help us better understand the client and what they’re going through and tells us what their strengths and their weaknesses are,” Wilson said.
From there, outreach workers take a risk assessment, determining what risk level they pose to the school or community.
“The higher the risk, the more time we will meet with a kid. So let’s say if a kid is high risk, we meet with them three times a week, moderate two times a week, low one time per week,” Wilson said.
With all the information, a life plan is created that shows the kids four goals they need they need to work on. When they hit all their goals and the parents see a positive change in their lives, they are finished with the program and can move on to a better life.
“A lot of our kids go on to graduate high school. Even once they post graduation they have questions or need assistance they always reach back out to us and we try to help them find jobs,” Webb said.
They say the proof of the program’s success is in the numbers, which show crime among youth in the city is down since the program began.
The program will also be hosting a “Hope for Healing” Fall Festival that provides what Webb calls a “community grocery store” of resources that offer educational, vocational and mental health programs to provide resources.
It will take place on November 1, 2025 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 621 N Jefferson Street in Roanoke.