INDIANAPOLIS — In the last two days, several teens in Indianapolis were either shot, caught with a gun or trying to buy one.
It’s a growing problem in Indianapolis that doesn’t seem to be getting better.
“I’m nervous every day when my children leave home,” said Indianapolis mother Charonda Lewis.
Lewis is a single mom who is striving to keep her kids safe, especially her son Dewayne Procter. The 15-year-old has been in and out of trouble.
Most recently, he became involved with New B.O.Y. or “New Breed of Youth,” which is a youth mentoring program.
“It took me a little bit to figure out myself but once I started figuring it out, I’m like, ‘Dang, there is so much more out here,’” Procter said.
Last Wednesday, a basketball game at Lawrence Central High School ended with gunfire in the parking lot. Police arrested a 14-year-old and 15-year-old for possessing guns.
Then on Thursday, police say a 16-year-old tried to buy a gun from a woman. The exchange ended in a car crash and two teens were shot.
Procter said finding or buying a firearm is easy, but he said the reason for having one is not as simple.
“A lot of kids, they don’t just carry guns to commit crimes. They carry guns because they are scared of their own life and what’s going on out here. That’s why you have so many kids carrying guns,” he said.
“If we are going to tell kids to put the guns down, then we have to give them an alternative,” said Kareem Hines, the founder of New B.O.Y.
That’s exactly what Hines is doing with his program by offering boxing, material arts, podcasting, writing, producing and acting.
“I want to give them a platform to open up and talk about their problems because right now, they are picking up guns and they are letting the trigger do the talking and it’s having a profound effect on our city,” Hines said.
It’s also why Lewis is speaking up. She said too often you see moms on the news only after they lose a child, but she doesn’t want that to be the case anymore.
“I think we as moms have to get ahold of our boys more. Interact in their lives more. If we can get together as parents and get ahold of our children, it would probably be a little bit better for our children out here,” she said.
You can find more information about New B.O.Y. here.