'Something deeply wrong in play': Advocates concerned with continued youth violence in Winnipeg

Yellow police tape surrounds an area for an investigation. (CTV News/Rob Cooper)

Violent youth crime appears to be on an upward trend in Winnipeg and organizations that support youth are concerned about the current state.

For Kent Dueck, the executive director and founder of Inner City Youth Alive, it's not surprising when stories of violent crime involving youth pop up.

"For those of us working directly in the community, we've kind of become accustomed to these kinds of stories," said Dueck.

When he hears of reports like the one from last week where a 12-year-old male used a machete on a 17-year-old male in downtown Winnipeg, there are a lot of questions that come to his mind.

"Do they have nothing in their life that's worth living for? Because there's a recklessness to it. You see that so many youth are sort of adrift and without purpose…you know there's something deeply wrong in play."

Dueck said, at times, it can feel like an uphill battle trying to reach all the youth who need support and put them on a better path in life.

It's a sentiment that Daniel Emerson shares, noting there is more violence everywhere.

The Youth Hub manager with The Link said there aren't enough spaces in Winnipeg to help youth and give them the support they need.

"We need more spaces for youth to access spaces for youth to feel safe. I think a concern that I would have is that we don't have enough of those spaces for our youth and we need to really work hard on developing and creating safe spaces," said Emerson.

According to 2022 data in a Winnipeg police report, crime involving youth is committed every 5.3 hours and violent crime happens every 8.9 hours.

In 2022, youth crime was up compared to numbers from 2020 and 2021, with a significant increase in violent crime. It's also noted that 10 per cent of all crimes in Winnipeg involved youth, but 17 per cent of violent crimes had youth involved.

CTV News Winnipeg requested an interview from Winnipeg police for more information about 2023 stats, but was told an interview couldn't be accommodated.

For Emerson, he said the good news with programming at The Link is they have been able to build "wonderful relationships" with those who access the space and they don't see violence from participants.

'WHAT GIFT DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE?'

Emerson said The Link is open 24/7 and supports are always available for any kind of situation.

"We're providing meals every single day, three meals a day, we're providing six days of programming and we're also trying to meet the kids where they're at so we can support those needs.

"We want to serve and provide services to as many people as we can. Now, that only happens when those youth access our space and that only happens when we're able to get our kids out of violent crime and violent behaviour by having them receive more of these types of supports."

Dueck said they try to get involved with kids when they are young and give them a sense of purpose in life.

"So we try not to say, 'What do you need?' We try to say, ' What gift do you have to give.' When a kid starts to think that they have a meaning and a purpose, they might be able to make their community a better place, they might be able to make their family happier," said Dueck.

He said it's also important to provide the proper avenues for youth to seek out proper recreation, to keep them away from the negativity in life.

"If they have something to do other than what's sort of on offer in the community – and it can often be involvement in crime – recreation, where you have basketball hoops going, where you have wading pools, things for youth to do. That's an alternative to getting caught up in crime."

Dueck said it can be hard and the topic of youth crime is negative, but it is important to help them wherever possible and get them on the right path.