TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Tallahassee Urban League hosted a Unity in the Community event Saturday, packing Georgia street with free information, food, and fun for all who came out.
Attendees were able to access things like health screenings, COVID-19 testing and voter registration.
But the key focuses of the event were fighting gun violence and drug use among local youth.
Local, state and law enforcement leaders stood shoulder to shoulder in their own show of unity, urging attendees to take action.
"The county and the city alone, we're not going to solve the gun violence problem," said Mayor John Dailey, standing with Leon County Commission Chairman Bill Proctor. "It's going to take everybody in the community coming together, and it's our role and responsibility as leaders to bring everybody to the table, create those incredible ideas, but to execute more importantly."
Execution young people like Aylanah Alls say they're eager to participate in, so they'll see fewer of their peers in jail or worse.
"Because there're situations where like students at my school have gotten in trouble for having like weapons on campus, and it is endangering like everybody that goes to our entire, like everybody that goes there," Alls said. "And I really feel bad for the kids because I don't want them to throw away their life for making a bad choice, and I don't want anybody else to get hurt either."
Many of the most recent instances of violence in our community occurred in the 32304 zip code, which has been identified as the poorest zip code in Florida.
"Gun violence is an echo of poverty," adds Proctor, "and we're wanting to calm that down, and to change the vibe, to change the atmosphere and to make this environment safe and sound for everybody."
The Urban League plans to host similar events in the coming weeks to keep momentum toward finding solutions to local crime.
