Baker’s Children Have a Stake in the City’s Fight Against Violence

BAKER, La. — For Baker’s children, community safety is not an abstract policy discussion.

It is whether they feel safe walking to school. Whether they can participate in sports and activities without violence disrupting their lives. Whether their parents feel comfortable allowing them to play outside. And whether young people see enough positive opportunities around them to believe their future can be different from the violence they may witness.

That is why youth voices are becoming an important part of Baker’s broader effort to prevent violence.

The city brought residents, community organizations and other stakeholders together for “Hope in the Midst: Connection | Planning | Support,” a community safety planning session at the Baker Municipal Auditorium.

The gathering was part of a larger violence-prevention strategy announced by Mayor Darnell Waites following a series of shootings and other violent incidents in the city. The plan emphasizes partnerships among government, law enforcement, educators, community organizations, faith leaders and residents, while also calling for greater support for youth and families.

Waites has made clear that the responsibility for creating safer neighborhoods cannot rest with police alone.

“Creating a safer Baker requires all of us. When communities unite around prevention, opportunity, and hope, we can break cycles of violence.” — Mayor Darnell Waites

That philosophy places children in an important position within the conversation. If prevention is the goal, young people cannot simply be viewed as the recipients of programs designed by adults. They also have experiences, concerns and ideas that can help shape those programs.

And for some Baker youth, safety is personal.

Recent incidents have demonstrated how closely violence can intersect with young people's daily lives. In June, Baker police investigated two reports of shots fired near Baker High School. Gunfire on Daniels Street in July sent one person to a hospital.

But the city's response is not limited to increased attention to violent incidents.

Baker's prevention plan calls for community-based intervention, stronger relationships between residents and institutions, coordinated services and positive opportunities for young people and families.

That distinction is important.

A police officer can respond after violence occurs. A school can strengthen security. But preventing violence also means creating environments where young people have trusted adults, constructive activities, meaningful relationships and opportunities that give them something to protect and look forward to.

The effort includes partnerships with organizations such as Pivot4Peace and the Diontrey Claiborne Stop the Violence Organization, along with city officials and other community leaders.

The goal is to make the conversation about more than what happens after a shooting.

It is about asking what can be done before violence occurs.

What do children need to feel safe?

Where do young people feel most vulnerable?

What resources are missing from their neighborhoods?

Which adults and organizations do they trust?

And perhaps most importantly, are adults willing to listen when young people answer those questions?

Those are the kinds of questions that can turn a violence-prevention plan from a government initiative into a community strategy.

For Baker's young people, the stakes extend far beyond crime statistics.

They are the children who will inherit the city. They will attend its schools, play in its parks, enter its workforce and eventually become its parents, homeowners, business owners and community leaders.

Creating a safer Baker, therefore, is not simply about reducing violence today.

It is about making sure the children growing up in Baker have the opportunity to imagine — and build — a different tomorrow.

For more information, residents may contact cviteam@pivot4peace.org or call/text 225-296-9370.