LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — ONE Lexington, the city’s initiative to end youth gun violence, shared its annual release with the community on Tuesday.
“Last year, we saw a 46% drop in homicides and the lowest number of shootings since 2018,” said Mayor Linda Gorton, surrounded by city council members, the chief of police, and other community leaders.
Additionally, the number of shooting victims aged 13 to 29 decreased by 35%.
“Obviously, we're here today to talk about progress, but we can't forget that there are people we have lost, people that won't come back, families that are forever changed,” said ONE Lexington’s director, Devine Carama.
Listing off the names of each homicide victim in 2023, Carama paused for a moment of silence.
The ongoing issue of violent crime fuels ONE Lexington’s efforts, and despite last year’s losses, Carama described 2023 with one word: progress.
He credits a citywide effort from an ecosystem of community partners.
“We have created a stream of services and programs to support those who are most vulnerable in our community,” said Carama.
In 2023, One Lexington offered the “It Takes A Village” summer and in-school mentoring programs, N.O.C.A.P. program, crisis response efforts, youth mediation, supporting survivors, training opportunities for community partners, Downtown Peace Keepers initiative, and a host of other programming you can read about here.
Over the summer, ONE Lexington worked with nearly 200 students at William Wells Brown Elementary. Speaking on the elementary's experience, Melody Westerfield with FCPS said, “Having people who have different backgrounds and look like them and are intentional about building relationships with them, knowing what they've been through. That's what it takes, it takes building relationships with them."
According to Westerfield, mentorship matters for Lexington’s youth, some of whom have dealt with gun violence in their neighborhoods or even in their families.
“It's very important to have these conversations, even at this level,” said Westerfield.
In 2024, leaders with ONE Lexington hope to do even more, but growth depends on the effort of the community they’re serving.
“We cannot save the streets without the streets,” said Carama. “And what I mean by that is we need those individuals with that lived experience. We need individuals who are living in these communities being impacted by gun violence each and every night. We need you to be a part of this fight with us.”
