Precious Lives

Stories about kids, guns and how to stop the violence. Precious Lives, created by 371 Productions, is a 2-year, 100-part weekly radio series about gun violence and young people in the Milwaukee area. The series applies a public health lens to each story to help listeners understand the full scope of the problem: who are the victims and the shooters; how are the weapons obtained; and what can we change about the environment that contributes to violence in Milwaukee?

#053 Precious Lives: Milwaukee Mayor Remarks on Plan for Youth Violence Prevention

WUWM 89.7 FM

Published January 19, 2016 at 10:44 AM CST

Mayor Tom Barrett says when it comes to a plan for violence prevention in Milwaukee, “I don’t want it to be the city as the center of the wheel and all the spokes come out of the center of the wheel. This is a system.”";s:3:

2015 was a violent year for Milwaukee. The total year end number of homicides was up nearly 70% from the previous year. Most of the victims were young African American males. And many of those deaths were a result of a gun.

The new year brings some hope, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's office has some changes in store, including two new positions related to youth violence prevention.

Mayor Barrett discusses how he plans to reduce violence in the coming years.