NORFOLK, Va. — One group is calling on kids, teens and the community to use conflict resolution and end gun violence in Norfolk.
That’s the goal for a group called Israel United in Christ as they held a seminar at the Diggs Town Boys & Girls club to steer kids and teens away from crime.
"We hope to give them solutions when they find themselves in certain conflicts, violent conflicts to prevent those things and show them there’s more than one way to interact with each other," Adryel Israel, an event coordinator with the Youth Violence Conflict Resolution Seminar and Israel in Christ.
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Norfolk Sheriff Joe Baron gave advice to parents and the community.
"I’ve seen what human beings can do to each other when they don’t deal with conflict in a healthy way," Baron said.
The sheriff says a lot of people end up incarcerated because of it.
"People go to jail mainly because of low job skills. The other reason people go to jail or prison is because of a lack of conflict resolution skills and anger management issues," Baron said.
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One parent says the seminar was insightful.
"I taught in public school and see a great need in something like this," Shavonda, a parent who only gave her first name said.
So far this year, there have been at least 24 homicides in Norfolk.
