Project Safe Neighborhoods Youth Outreach Event @ KL Training Impact Center
NEWS RELEASE BELOW FROM THE U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office will host a youth outreach event in Asheville tomorrow as part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
The event, titled “An Intersection of Youth and the Criminal Justice System,” is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) , in partnership with My Daddy Taught Me That (MDTMT), a youth development organization based in Asheville that receives federal PSN grants.
Adolescents invited to the event will actively engage with representatives of the federal agencies. The speakers will lead discussions through story-telling and interactive sessions on topics centered on promoting healthy choices, fostering good decision-making, handling peer pressure, developing conflict prevention strategies, and enhancing positive dispute resolution skills. In addition, the event will provide a platform for participating youths to relay personal experiences engaging with law enforcement and share ideas on how to interact with law enforcement in effective, positive, and productive ways.
“Engaging with young people is a key component of our efforts to enhance community safety and develop trust and respect between law enforcement and those we serve,” said U.S. Attorney King. “We are looking forward to connecting with young people and speaking to them directly about how the decisions they make today can impact their future and share ways they can maintain a path to success. We will also share practical tools and skills for safe and effective interactions with law enforcement and what young people can do to help increase safety in their schools and neighborhoods.”
“As law enforcement professionals, it is a privilege to take a moment and share what we’ve learned and experienced in our work to make communities better and safer,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “Our hope is that by highlighting what makes our work so rewarding, we can encourage young people to make the right choices and take the right steps towards a better opportunity.”
“My Daddy Taught Me That is a program designed to uplift and support the development and education of youth and young males,” said MDTMT Founder Keynon Lake. “Our mission is to foster and empower boys to become healthy men, and to develop into the leaders of tomorrow. This is facilitated through education, hands-on activities, and participation in innovative and unique events like this, that will have a positive and long-lasting effect on all those who participate.”
MDTMT is a youth development program designed to support youth through advocacy, education, and mentoring. For more information on MDTMT, please visit https://mydaddytaughtmethat.org/.
Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, PSN is a collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to enhance public safety. On May 26, 2021, the Justice Department launched a strategy strengthening PSN, so that it is built on the core principles of fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results of those efforts.
Updated February 28, 2024
