Youth Violence

Merger of GBA, GBC can better business climate Donald P. Hutchinson will be stepping down as president of the Greater Baltimore Committee in order to lead the Maryland division of SunTrust Bank. We all owe Mr. Hutchinson our thanks for his service to our community and our best wishes for success in his new challenge ("Hutchinson's leaving fuels talk of merging GBC, 2 other groups," Oct. 8). But the corporate and economic development world of Baltimore has changed tremendously since the founding of the GBC and since the start of Mr. Hutchinson's tenure.

AS MUCH as we would like to deny it, violence in our community plays a major role in the lives of educators. We are charged with teaching young people who have less than favorable home lives and live in distressed and violent communities. Statistics from the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence show that violence among minority youths, particularly African-Americans, has struck with unique force in recent years. Homicide has been the leading cause of death among black males and females between the ages of 15 and 24 for more than 10 years, the center says.

In their rough West Baltimore neighborhood, Perry Spain would occasionally surprise 10-year-old Tevin Montrel Davis with candy bars and sodas. Yesterday Tevin's family was shocked to hear that police had arrested Spain, 19, in the shooting Monday night that left Tevin critically injured in his father's arms on the front steps of their rowhouse. Spain, who lives 12 doors from Tevin in the 1900 block of W. Fairmount Ave., faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and a handgun violation.

Letia Bennett and DeRay McKesson know that plenty of Baltimore youth do well in school and steer clear of trouble. But the teen-agers worry about their peers who have had scrapes with the law, are using or selling drugs, or have become parents. So tomorrow, Letia and DeRay, both 16, will participate in Youth Explosion 2001 in hopes of finding solutions to many of the problems that can envelop youth. One thousand people are expected to attend the second annual event, which targets ages 13 to 21 and will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Highlights will include a Peace Walk, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. "The purpose of the Peace Walk is to show unity among young people in Baltimore City," said Lamarr Darnell Shields, who organized the event with Darlene Walker and David Miller.

Ignoring the guns won't help stop youth violence The writer of the recent letter "Emotional reactions won't stop the shootings" (Arundel letters, March 18) characterizes any expression of concern about easy access to guns in school shootings as an emotional and simplistic reaction, one pandering to panic, demagogy and exploiting a tragedy. Besides grossly overreaching in his criticism, the writer is way off-target. And, by holding the guns blameless, he is guilty of the most simplistic reaction.

THIS IS what should keep us up at night: By 2006, there will be more 15 to 19-year-olds than the country has seen in two decades. Among them will be thousands of teenagers who are growing up needy and fatherless in Baltimore's violent neighborhoods. Crime and violence are likely to rise, unless we do something today for children between the ages of 8 and 14. Last year, 23 of the city's homicide victims were 17 years old or younger. Over the past two years, a number of private organizations and public agencies have targeted kids for particular attention.

About 50 Carroll County schoolchildren gathered yesterday at the Westminster library branch to learn about a range of programs designed to provide them with assets - including empowerment, positive values and a commitment to learning - that will help them make sound decisions. Members of a newly formed coalition, ACTIVE Alliance for a Healthier Community, sponsored the event, calling for new programs - from faith-based marriage counseling to greater availability of long-term care for substance users - to combat juvenile violence and drug use. The proposals drafted by the ACTIVE (Adults and Children Together Improving Values and Ethics)

A Baltimore judge ordered a grand jury yesterday to examine youth gun violence in this city of 300-plus homicides a year and to come up with a plan for a collective attack by law enforcement and the community. Judge Wanda K. Heard asked the 23 grand jurors, who will serve a six-month term, to analyze current violence-curbing initiatives. "Different chiefs in our community, in different sectors of our community, are working in small groups or individually to attack the problem of youth gun violence," Heard told the jurors.

In response to what organizers call a "youth violence plague," city church leaders invited area churches and recreation centers yesterday to join them in providing a safe hangout for youths on some Friday nights this summer. Uniting churches citywide, "Kidz Nite Inn" offers a way for city youths to spend evenings off the streets and out of harm's way during the summer, organizers said in announcing the initiative at Koinonia Baptist Church in East Baltimore. "What we are doing is giving kids the opportunity to make their own decisions.

Along with height and weight, pediatricians have a new question to address during a child's annual checkup: Is there a gun in the house? That's one of the recommendations adopted recently by the American Academy of Pediatrics, a Chicago-based organization representing 55,000 children's doctors nationwide. The academy's 10-person Task Force on Violence called on doctors to help address the threat of violence to the health of children and youth. Their study noted that: * Teen-agers are now more likely to die of gunshot wounds than of all natural causes combined.