Indy Peace Walk aimed to promote unity and safety for youths INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The third annual Indianapolis Peace Walk was Friday evening with hundreds gathered at the Taggart Memorial Amphitheater in Riverside Regional Park on the west side of Indianapolis. Families, community leaders and members of groups came together to focus on keeping kids safe while building a stronger community during the start of the National Youth Violence Prevention Week. The gathering comes as community leaders and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers are bracing for a possible summer wave of teen violence. Kareem Hines, founder of New Breed of Youth Mentoring Program, said, “Our youth is crying for help. Indianapolis is full of energy, but we lack synergy.” Lamar Davis II, director of the Marion County Commission on Youth helped organize the event. “We’re doing this proactively. We’re getting the youth out here today to have fun, meet some youth-led organizations so we can start the peace, keep the peace and keep the peace going.” Youth Leader Lauren Vivo said events that focus on teens and kids can make a difference. “Not a lot of politicians right now know what it’s like to have to do a school safety drill. They don’t know what it’s like to have to hide against the wall, and hear someone knock on your door and try to open it. It’s really important to show our perspective because we are ultimately the ones getting affected by these laws.” Vivo wants to get ahead of what could be a violent summer by planning fun events that are safe and welcome everyone. “You’re not alone. You have someone to talk to. There are adults and hotlines.” IMPD Chief Tanya Terry talked about youth deaths and shooting victims. “So far this year, our numbers are down, so we have 90 nonfatal shooting victims, but 20 of them have involved juveniles. That’s about 22.2% of our non-fatal assault victims that are juveniles.” WISH-TV’s Youth Alternatives to Violence Crime initiative ...read more read less