COLUMBUS, Ohio — Multiple agencies in Central Ohio are coming together to try to curve the crime rate.

What You Need To Know

  • Huckleberry House is a nonprofit organization that works with at risk youth 

  • Experts from the nonprofit said that the pandemic intensified problems they were already seeing 

  • According to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, six of the 10 homicides they've investigated have been victims under 23

  • FCSO said crime reports involving juveniles are 42% higher this year than last year

Melanie Gunther works with Huckleberry House, a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth. She's watched teens and young adults grow from difficult circumstances and situations.

“We’re not new to working with at-risk young people, but I'll be honest to say right now it's rough,” said Gunther. She said that the pandemic unleashed a new degree of trauma, housing instability and poverty that’s made it harder to reach young people.

“We talked a lot about having dollars, money, really driving the motivation to get out in the streets and do things otherwise they would not have to do,” said Gunther. “They talked a lot about social media and the effects of having access to things like social media glamorizing how to get quick money. They talked about gun accessibility in our community.” 

Gun violence has plagued Central Ohio. Major Steve Tucker of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office knows the problem too well. He said that of the ten homicides they’ve investigated this year, six of the victims are under the age of 23 years old. 

One of the youngest Central Ohio homicide victims was 13 years old. Eight of the suspects have been under the age of 23 years old. He said it's a mix of under-reported gun thefts and an increased number of at risk youth.

“They don’t understand finger placement on the trigger, they don’t understand the safety and its resulting in a lot of accidental shootings so we’re seeing kids play violent games, that’s ultimately what’s happening and tragically it's what’s costing people their lives,” said Tucker. 

According to FCSO, crime reports involving juveniles are 42% higher this year than last year. In response, the sheriff’s office started the Covert Task Force, which is a proactive policing program. It will allow for officers to have visibility in areas that are seeing high crime rates with the goal of connecting the at-risk population to resources.

“If you can identify that person and you can connect them with the appropriate resources, be it workplace, education, finding someone to just mentor them,” said Tucker. “We've begun to develop those types of partnerships and we want to bring those resources to the community. While we do the investigatory work, we want to partner the people at risk with the resources that are available.” 

The sheriff’s office isn’t alone in the fight. Huckleberry House recently received a grant that would allow them to expand their outreach program. This means they can hire more therapists and staff to go out in neighborhoods to share resources. Gunther said that it's going to take everyone coming together to put a stop to the violence.

“Whatever we can do as a community to combat this issue, come together to really reach these young people and save their lives,” said Gunther. 

The wait list to get a bed at Huckleberry House right now is about a month, but the youth can always use them as a safe space. For more information on how to connect the Huckleberry House resources, click here.