Caught in the Cross Hairs: Mayor Miller shares thoughts on teen violence, MVP and more

The families of 15 teens in Macon-Bibb County had to bury their children last year after losing them to gun violence. 

The loss of those teens will have ripple effects beyond their homes and their schools, and sadly, the numbers keep climbing.

Our series, “Caught in the Cross Hairs: The Risks and Remedies of Teen Violence,” goal is to shine a spotlight on the problem and will surface some solutions.

We start with Mayor Lester Miller and his vision for preventing the violence before it starts.

Miller has deep roots in the community. He is a product of south Macon and spent a lot of time inside the Macon Mall.

"I think about the Shoney's restaurant upstairs. My cousin worked there, my family worked there,” he said. “Coming here with my family, but also my friends, and coming here to shop for back to school was always something we looked forward to every time. Going to the Toys-R-Us and having a wish list there." 

He also remembers a time when disagreements among young people escalated and then were quickly resolved, but today’s headline tells a different story, one in which teens settle scores with deadly weapons. 

"Oh, yeah, we settled them on the playground and then we just forgot about it," Miller said. "Now, we don't have a lot of conflict resolution. Their first instinct now is to be bigger and badder and pick up a gun, and I think that's kind of where we went off track." 

He believes revitalizing the mall can help get young people back on track. He’s also optimistic his multi-pronged Macon Violence Prevention Program can make an impact on young lives sooner. 

"I think it's a place to get them off the streets, get them into good jobs here, a place people can go shop and communicate together,” he said. "We realize we need to get into the hearts and the minds and the activities of these youths as early as elementary schools -- by the time they get to high school, it's pretty late in the game.”

Miller added, “They've already decided whether they're going to join a gang, whether they're going to pick up illegal substances, or whether they're going to pick up a firearm.“ 

He admits some criminal elements will always be out there, but hopes to engage young people head-on. 

“You're always going to hear about crime -- it's always going to be there. Some of this is not preventable, but we have to attack it early on and that's what we're trying to do,” he said  "You've got to get in their face. You've got to let them know that there's a connection there. It's hard to ignore someone who's struggling and having problems if you meet them." 

The goal is simple: changing and saving lives.

“If you ask me what keeps me up at night, it's losing the life of someone, particularly a young person, knowing that I could not have done anything about that but trying to learn from what happened and trying to see if we can do something about it and change that trajectory," Miller said.