PEORIA, Ill. – An advocate for young people believes “enough is enough” when it comes to on-going violence in Peoria, including the deaths of children.
The “Stop the Violence” march is scheduled for Saturday (July 12) from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Downtown Peoria, beginning outside City Hall on Fulton Street. The march will end at 1015 S. Matthew Street where there will be a resource fair.
Next Level Academies President Antonio Lipscomb tells 25 News that NLA is sponsoring the weekend event because he wants to educate young adults about the value of life.
He calls this a “village approach,” to the ongoing issue of violence, especially within the Black community.
“It’s just a matter of us all coming together, with one voice unified, saying that we are concerned about our youth,” he says. “We really want them to have the mental health and capacity to put down the guns and develop some level of conflict resolution.”
Lipscomb also says the goal is for kids to know there’s a safe place to come for help with mental health, and people shouldn’t wait until it’s too late.
“We can’t blame the police department, we can’t blame the mayor and the city council, we can’t blame the prosecutor’s office, and we can’t blame the sheriffs,” Lipscomb says. “The only people we really need to start looking at internally is us, and that’s what we need to do in order to correct this problem.”
Lipscomb says he wants this to become an annual event, reaching any community in need.
No streets will be closed during the march, and those taking part can use sidewalks and crosswalks at the intersections.
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