Youth crime is a significant concern in Charlotte, North Carolina, especially delinquency on and around the N. Tryon Street corridor. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) has reported “a rise in juvenile arrests and violent crimes. …crime calls for service, arrests, and overall interactions. Most troubling is that youth violent crimes are up 8% year-over-year. CMPD cited that one of the reasons for this is Charlotte being one of the most rapidly growing cities in the nation.”[1] CMPD further states, “Because the crime rate for juveniles in Charlotte is higher than any other town or city, this crisis has caused the juvenile detention center to add additional bed space”[2] to accommodate housing more youth.
The UNC Charlotte Center for Violence Prevention believes that if left untreated, troubled youth will become troubled adults, and both the youth and society will pay a burdensome cost if the delinquent behaviors are not dealt with. There needs to be timely and effective intervention efforts made to treat troubled teens. According to an article published by AtRisk Youth, youth today “…are under stress as never before. Gang warfare, street stabbings, shootings, proliferation of drugs, binge drinking, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases all make life tough… And the tragic result is that so many young people are caught up in a dangerous lifestyle … place their lives at risk.”[3]
I volunteered with different churches and outreach programs in Charlotte, North Carolina’s urban neighborhoods, I observed firsthand the lack of positive role models and structured support systems for young people, which further solidified my commitment to working with high school seniors and emerging adults to address social gaps. My goal is to change the way youth view church. Churches for teenagers need not resemble the gathering places their parents and grandparents attended; instead, they should depart from the traditional church model and move toward a multiethnic urban youth church.
Krabil states that “…teens feel isolated from and wounded by the adult world around them, and they deal with problems of belonging. Taking these characteristics into account, worship is a response for high schoolers. Worship needs to be inspired and fueled by the stories of God’s faithfulness and love. Such worship builds relationships and a lifestyle of freedom within the church community.”[4] Teenagers want a place of their own where they can come together to worship God, without hassle or interference by the politically religious, and do church the way their parents and grandparents do church.
I want to invite stakeholders, community members and leaders, urban ministry planners, law enforcement, physical and mental health care agencies, faith-based facilities, volunteers, potential donors, and youth themselves to envision to create a safe, inviting, multi-functional, and flexible “home-like” environment that fosters and supports youth development, their social interaction, their personal growth, and their well-being; as well as emphasizing the importance of intentionality ministerial atmosphere, moving beyond traditional ministry to trauma-informed highly functioning design.
So, Save Safe Haven is a community for teens to be protected and unharmed from the abuse of their homes, the cruel, ugly criminalization of the metropolitan dangerous streets, and the frequent neglect of the justice system. Save Safe Haven is an environment where adolescents and young adults are allowed to learn to overcome their traumatic experiences and move forward to lead successful lives.
The ministry will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as an urban youth outreach serving teenagers aged 12 to 24. Staff and volunteers are always available to provide ministerial care and counselling to adolescents and to those who are reentering society from juvenile detention centers and substance abuse programs. Evans declares that “The church is a place where weary people can go to find truth, acceptance, equality, freedom, safety, joy, justice, and hope. It serves as a centralized role in culture. …not only to preach God’s Word but also to administrate the critical operations…in such a way…that…it fulfills its purpose in society.”[5]
The goal is to share the ministry’s holistic approach, generate excitement and support for a new facility, and provide transparency about the strategic planning and site design. Additionally, it aims to drive website/blog traffic, build community awareness and trust, recruit volunteers, and inspire donors to make funding donations.
The mission is to apply a biblical worldview to address challenging topics such as abuse, poverty, crime, inequality, mental health, family issues, relationships, identity, and spirituality, empowering urban teens to become agents of change for themselves and their community.
The vision is to create a secure, safe, welcoming, and versatile environment that fosters community creativity, healing, self-respect, positive development, personal growth, and, most importantly, to teach the youth and young adults to fish for themselves rather than expecting someone to do the fishing for them.
[1] AtRisk Youth, “Definition of an At-Risk Youth,” https://atriskyouthprograms.com/definition-of-an-at-risk-youth/amp.
[2] James R. Krabil, Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook, (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2013), 266.
[3]Tony Evens, The Centrality of the Church: Practicing the Ways of God with the People of God, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020).
[4] Jesse Ullman, “Juvenile Crime Continues to Plague Charlotte: CMPD Midyear Crime Stats,” https://www.qcnews.com/crime-and-public-safety/cmpd-to-release-midyear-crime-stats-for-charlotte/
[5] Ibid.
Save Safe Haven 