San Antonio nonprofits gather to address local youth violence

San Antonio nonprofits Rise Recovery, Big Mama’s Safe House and San Antonio Youth For Christ hosted the inaugural San Antonio Summit on Youth Violence on Jan. 12 at Rise Recovery’s Charlie Naylor Campus on the city’s north side.

Event organizers said the summit was the first step in forming a coalition to include educators, law enforcement, substance use professionals and concerned residents who all seek to explore contributing factors that surround juvenile recidivism in the city’s justice system.

According to data presented by the summit hosts, the Bexar County justice system had 448 violent youth referrals in 2021, an increase from 402 in 2020 but down from 575 in 2019.

Twelve juveniles were in the system for murder/manslaughter in 2021, up from nine the year before, the summit hosts said, adding sexual assault-related crimes among youth also rose to 177 in 2021 from 127 in 2020 with 167 such cases reported in 2019.

Representatives from the nonprofits, experts and other guest speakers discussed topics such as San Antonio’s violence prevention index, substance use and how it contributes to violence, and gun violence as a byproduct of adverse childhood experiences.

Organizers said summit participants and their community partners want to increase youth violence prevention and intervention and reduce juvenile recidivism, an issue they said is exacerbated with youth often being moved out the juvenile justice system and into the adult population.

Participation at the summit included representatives from the Texas Incarcerated Inmate Family Association, the San Antonio Police Department, Lock The Shields, Monster Moms, Bridging The Gap and the Bexar County juvenile probation program, organizers said.