LEXINGTON, Ky. — The City of Lexington reports it saw a decrease in both shootings and homicides for those between 13 and 29 years old in 2023, a 35% drop in overall shootings for this age group.
One reason behind this drop is the work of ONE Lexington, an advocacy group formed in 2017. The organization is a youth-based, community gun-violence reduction program, consisting of major individuals and community partners. Its director, Devine Carama, has spent nearly a decade helping Lexington identify adolescent needs in the community.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said she's pleased with the group's leadership, adding they are focused on keeping numbers consistently low in 2024.
"This is what Lexington has been doing in coordination with our police department, with our community partners," Gorton said. "We have many partners up here ... in the schools, the hospitals and the nonprofits."
The organization has also fostered several partnerships through education systems and schools, such as William Wells Brown Elementary's “It Takes A Village,” a mentorship program led by Melody Westerfield.
Westerfield said she strives to help students regardless of where they are in life. She added students can experience hardship inside of their homes, which can hinder behavioral development, but programs and support from ONE Lexington can help prevent challenges before they are teens.
“This is an organization that comes in and allows them to be their natural selves,” Westerfield said. “Some of the kids can be catty back and forth, but this is one space they're all connected to.”
ONE Lexington added it plans to continue reaching children from their pre-teen to young adult years.