With everything going on in the world right now, families are heading into the upcoming school year with a lot on their minds.
On Thursday, a Fort Worth community event is offering some guidance.
City and school district leaders, along with local clergy, are hosting a youth rally to end gun violence.
It starts at noon at Morningside Middle School on 2751 Mississippi Avenue in Fort Worth. It is being led by Pastor Kyev Tatum, Sr. of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church.
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The event is free and organizers are encouraging parents, teachers, coaches, students — anyone who plays a part in a young person’s life — to attend.
“I encourage parents to come and model the behavior that you want to see young people," said Fort Worth ISD school board trustee Wallace Bridges.
He lives in the Morningside neighborhood. He said ongoing gun violence among youth, along with stressors over the last two years, is causing trauma in this community. He said there have been a number of shootings in recent months that have affected his neighbors, something he realized in a recent conversation with a young man.
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“He said, 'Mr. Wallace, it’s almost like I have to compartmentalize that somewhere else. Because if I put my mind on it, I can't I get if I get my mind wrapped around it, I can't move forward,'” Bridges said. “And what happens when there is no space for them to understand what they're going through?”
That’s something that Fort Worth city councilman Chris Nettles says he’s trying to change.
Thursday’s event is part of his ongoing effort to curb teen gun violence. Two months ago, he launched the Fort Worth Violence Intervention Program, which brings violence prevention organizations into local schools.
“Violence is increasing all over the nation,” he told NBC 5. We’re on the front line, elected officials and community leaders need to do all we can to save our youth.”
At Morningside Middle School on Thursday, Nettles is bringing in a nationally recognized motivational speaker Dr. Javar Godfrey to work one on one with youth and their families to help them cope with what he calls the triple threat — thoughts, triggers, and trauma.
“So thought is the first thing: What toxic thoughts won’t you let go? Who do you have the most toxic conversations with? And how do you get out of those? Number two is triggers. What sets you off? Who knows? How do you express yourself once triggered?” he explained. “And trauma — what happened to you? Do you still live there? And if so, what are we going to do about it? And so we work through those things and give you tools.”
Godfrey has close ties to Fort Worth, with his daughter attending TCU. His sessions were featured in the 2021 Essence Wellness House. He said he has plans to continue working with Fort Worth community leaders and youth.
“Every community I've been to across the country — I asked the same question. I've got the same answer. The last time someone was shot in your community, who came to talk to you? The answer is nobody. And that's just the truth,” he said. “So my thing is, I'm tired of everybody talking about the community. Let's go talk with them.”
The event comes as the Fort Worth ISD school board asks Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to focus on new gun laws.
Trustees passed a resolution this week encouraging the governor to call legislators to Austin to pass “common sense" firearm policies. It would protect students from school shootings like the tragedy that happened in Uvalde.
The board says they want to see it done before kids head back to school next month.
The governor called three special sessions in 2021 after the legislature had adjourned. None of them focused on gun control.
