Monday’s arrest in the homicide at the Bloomfield Road Chick-fil-A marked 6 teens charged in a month with murder – a number that is shocking to Bibb Sheriff David Davis.
He released a statement saying, “This is a horrible situation. I have four words: It starts at home. I beg parents to seek help to save their kids before it’s too late.”
WMAZ took a closer look at programs in Bibb County aimed at curbing violence among Macon’s youth.
One teen involved with a program says it made all the difference in her life.
In 7th grade, Jaylon Williams decided to spend her summer involved in something that lead her to the Mentor Project working hard to get a college degree.
“If it were not for her, I would not be sitting here,” said Williams about her mentor.
From dinners to tutoring, applying for jobs and college, Williams made a life for herself because of her mentor, Linda.
“She has had a big influence in molding me into who I am. A lot of the decisions I’ve made were because of her,” said Williams.
June O’Neal with the Mentors Project of Bibb County says kids of all ages have the chance to have a mentor lead them.
“It makes children feel like they’re not out there floating alone, that there’s a caring adult who is a cheerleader in their life,” she said.
O’Neal says it starts with mentors and that without mentors volunteering, kids have no one to be paired with.
“They have to volunteer. They have to get involved and they have to let these children know how incredibly precious and wonderful they are,” she said.
Williams says she managed to stay out of trouble growing up and so can others with an extra hand to guide them.
“It helps being lead in the right direction because [for] a lot of kids, it’s a reason behind why they do what they do. No one sits down and talks to them,” said Williams.
To her, having a role model in her life made all the difference.
If you want to be involved in a program, whether that's as a mentee or a mentor, you can call go to any of the websites listed below:
Mentor Programs in Macon: