Local activist has car broken into ahead of push to curb teen violence
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A community activist held a call to action for the community on the heels of his car being broken into.
"Come on now, I'm here trying to work with youth. We're doing a press conference, and look what happens," Executive Director of Peace for Change Alliance Tracey Dent said.
The night before a news conference on reducing teen violence and community activity, Tracey Dent's car was broken into. It happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday near a Walgreens on the city's east side.
"They were just rummaging through it because nothing was really taken. My thought process is that they were looking for guns," he said.
Dent tells CBS 58 it hurts to live this violence firsthand, but it highlights what he feels needs to be done.
"It just shows how important things like this, what we're doing, is really important to implement and really work with our young people," he said.
Monday, Dent previewed the second annual "Youth Victory Against Violence Week" happening in April. The week-long initiative involves local organizations visiting schools to discuss topics like gun violence, mental health, reckless driving, bullying, and sex trafficking.
"Our young people need to understand that being accountable is a good thing, being honest is a positive thing, showing respect and giving respect and walking in love and giving love is very good, and to get it at a young age, they'll have a great way into their adulthood," TeamTeal365 founder Samantha Collier said. TeamTeal365 is one of the organizations partnering for the initiative this year.
This year, Dent and his team are starting their efforts early at the request of Milwaukee Public Schools.
"That's the key, to hit as many students as we can and try to put that little bug in their ear to say, 'hey, there's people out here who care about you, and we want you to be the best version of yourself, so here's some resources to help you along the way,'" Dent said.
The first event will be held this month at King Middle School, where over 100 8th graders will learn how to perform CPR.