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?

#062 Precious Lives: Young Leaders Propose Restorative Justice to Tackle Gun Violence

WUWM 89.7 FM

Published March 22, 2016 at 11:36 AM CDT

Milwaukee Youth Council President Kalan R. Haywood II and representative Isaac Hoeschen think a youth led court could help curb gun violence in the city.

The City of Milwaukee has a youth council. Young people ages 14 to 18 are selected to represent each Aldermanic District.

Gun violence is one of the council’s top issues.

Recently, the council pushed forward a restorative justice effort to establish a youth court that represents an alternative to the usual courts and prison. Their aim is to provide peers a way to get back on the path to success, rather than continue on one that can lead to more crime, and even violence.

We spoke to two youth council members, president Kalan R. Haywood II and representative Isaac Hoeschen, about what they care about and why.