SACRAMENTO, California — Keeping young people alive is the goal for one Sacramento neighborhood as residents see a spike in crime. According to the California Department of Justice, there's been a steady increase in violent crimes over the past 10 years in Sacramento County.
In 2013, the California DOJ reported 78 homicides and 102 homicides in 2022. On Sunday, a group of Del Paso Heights residents came together for a 'Unity N Community' event in hopes of stopping the violence.
"It's disheartening. It hurts my heart every time a young person is lost," said Samuel Kinsey.
As a long time resident of Del Paso Heights, Kinsey said every young life lost is another tragedy in his community. Unfortunately, it's a tragedy that he's seen a lot of recently. However, he's hoping throwing this event will help be a start to stopping the problem.
"We're beginning to be more forceful in speaking against the non-violence and stop the shooting. I think that the more we come together and the more we talk against it, the more impact it will begin to have," Kinsey said.
Malik Brandon, 13, and his two friends look forward to this event every year.
"I try to stay inside, try to stay in school and stuff like that. I try to keep myself occupied, so I don't get influenced by bad things or stuff like the other crime," he said.
As more people in their community continue to be hurt or killed, 13-year-old Avion King said he's keeping a positive outlook going into the future.
"We see people get hurt and his crimes happening all the time. But you know, we got to take in consideration, like, it'll happen sometimes. So we just got to get through it," he said.
Throughout this event, Kinsey wants his message to remain clear to all young people in his neighborhood and beyond.
"Turn away from the drugs and start looking for some of the social programs, looking for people like myself, who will help mentor them," Kinsey said.
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