STOCKTON, Calif. — After 20 homicide cases in just four months, some young residents in Stockton have become familiar with scenes of yellow crime tape and police lights.
For people like Brittany Bobian, a community leader in Stockton, the rash of violent crimes early in the year has led to a need for creative solutions to engage the young generation, who are vulnerable to becoming involved in and impacted by violence.
"These politicians, they're very disconnected. Even some of these other organizers, they're very disconnected from what really is going on right here," Bobian said.
In 2018, after seeing a rise in shootings in Stockton, Bobian and others in the community got together and created a program called "Balloons over Bullets."
The mission and method of the group at launch was simple: host impromptu water balloon fights at schools and public spaces to encourage youth to spend time with water balloons and positive activities instead of bullets and violence.
"It was the quickest and easiest, cheapest way to get the kids out of the house and kind of give them that moment of relief." Bobian said. "It's actually evolved into something more than that, because it's like a conditioning system where we get the community and the people to kind of see the village that they've been neglecting."
After the city of Stockton surpassed 20 homicides in 2022 with the death of 15-year-old Stagg High School student Alycia Reynaga, Bobian and organizers knew it was time to act.
The group decided to start their annual summer events weeks early, hosting unique outreach and water balloon fight events at five Stockton high schools beginning May 2.
Bobian said it started with a quick call to her fellow coordinators.
"I called them and I was like, 'it's 2018 all over again,' so we have to bring that same energy, but this time we're a lot bigger," Bobian said. "The kids need it, and it's pushed us even more now, especially seeing that there has been no real reaction or nothing (done) for any of the kids."
On Monday, the group says they will be setting up their event at Bear Creek High School followed by Chavez High School on Tuesday, Edison High School on Wednesday, Franklin High School on Thursday and ending at Stagg High School Friday.
"We're just going to pull up right as they're getting out of school and have a water balloon fight and basically a little party in the parking lot," Bobian said. "It's not just Stagg that is affected by what's going on, it is every high school and I don't think we pay attention to the high school kids that much."
As the water starts flying, coordinators say that is when the connections begin.
"That's when you have the moment to like pour into the kids, to talk to them, to ask them questions," Bobian said. "It's a disconnect from the stresses of reality and then you get to reconnect them back to the community, into the people that love them."
In addition to hosting a gaming truck, food vendors and local artists at the after-school events next week, the group has partnered with local pastors and trauma-healing organizations who will be offering services and resources.
"It was just going to be us, but now we're like, 'OK, we need to bring more resources,'" Bobian said. "We're going to have food boxes, people there from the Lighthouse Healing Services, people there that (students) can talk to."
With warm weather forecasted for Stockton next week, Bobian says the group's original method of connecting with youth through a water balloon fight and through engagement will still take precedence.
"Kids to this day still see us even when I don't have a Balloons over Bullets shirt on. They're like, 'Hey, you got any more water balloons?' It's that transactional relationship," Bobian said. "I think people get excited when they see 10,000 water balloons - if they've never seen something like that - so that little bit of hope and relief is something that we're proud of."
For some Stockton students, an approaching summer break will also come with an influx of free time.
Bobian and others hope their event will help students heal from what has been a difficult school year for many, leaving them with hope and a positive activity for the next three months.
"It's the end of the year and we want to give them a little something to set the tone for the summer," Bobian said. "People will have meetings all day long about (crime) and I'm like, 'Well, while you guys are having these meetings, people are really affected,' and that's why it's important that the people do more."
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