Nashville employers are still hiring summer help. And the annual ritual could gain significance as city leaders try to reduce youth violence by increasing job opportunities for young people.
At a youth job fair in MetroCenter on Wednesday, employers had roughly 1,500 positions to fill. And 16-year-old Tony Jones said he could see the benefit of keeping students busy over the summer.
“The more you see kids getting jobs, you won’t see them on the streets doing illegal stuff,” he said.
But for Jones, it’s simpler than solving Nashville’s rising youth violence. He just wants to get a job.
And in the future, that job might be with Metro Government, which is trying to create 10,000 positions for teens. Mayor Megan Barry has allocated at least $1 million in her annual budget for the endeavor.
But Cyrah Laird, who just graduated from high school, says she’s not sure if employment is necessarily the key to decreasing youth violence.
“I think it has potential to work,” she said. “But I’m not sure if that will be the only solution. And you know, I don’t know if it will be 100 percent effective.”
To drive down youth violence, Laird said education may be most effective. That is also on the city’s list of six priority areas. Several initiatives are underway in response to 17,000 violent crimes involving young people over the last five years.
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