By GREGORY ZELLER //
Albany is loading up some unique ammunition in its battle against gun violence: jobs for at-risk youth.
Following a Nassau County “gun violence community meeting” on July 23, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced that the state will create 170 summer jobs for youths (ages 15 to 24) in seven Nassau ZIP codes, designed to keep the young people employed until the start of the new school year in September.
State officials are also partnering with local workforce-development boards to provide job-training and placement services aiming to place 280 Nassau youngsters into long-term jobs, including 100 permanent jobs for out-of-school youth in Hempstead.
The Nassau community meeting was one of a number of similar gatherings held throughout the state this month, targeting what the governor’s office called “gun violence hotspots.” One such meeting was held July 22 in Suffolk County, promising more than 350 youth-oriented jobs across six Suffolk ZIP codes.
All told, the governor’s office has pledged $16 million to create more than 6,000 summer and long-term jobs in 20 statewide cities and towns.
Andrew Cuomo: Taking aim at gun violence.
On July 6, referencing a “public health crisis,” Cuomo signed a “Declaration of a State Wide Disaster Emergency Due To Gun Violence,” a first-in-the-nation executive order authorizing the state to fund programs and otherwise intervene in New York’s firearms crisis. The idea behind the community meetings is to create new initiatives – primarily employment and community-based activities – benefiting at-risk youth in “cluster zones” where gun violence is reaching epidemic levels.
Hiring youth as “gun violence interrupters” – essentially, counselors who can guide others off dangerous paths based on their own experiences – is a big part of the plan, along with new resources for mental-health and substance-use disorders.
Officials at the Nassau County meeting also discussed new youth programs at Jones Beach and at state parks in Bethpage, Hempstead and Valley Stream, as well as new family-based crisis-intervention options.
In Suffolk, talk revolved around summer youth programs at the Robert Moses, Belmont Lake and Sunken Meadow state parks.
Referencing a crisis that calls for “bold action and comprehensive solutions,” the governor said all ideas to combat the gun-violence scourge would be considered.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to keep our communities safe,” Cuomo said. “These meetings helped us get on the same page with the people on the ground who know best what resources … communities need to address the gun-violence epidemic.
“We are going to deliver for them so we can reach those who are most vulnerable,” the governor added. “Too many lives have already been lost or destroyed [by] gun violence, and we are determined to do everything we can to keep communities safe and whole.”
