Heal Charlotte

We are community organization created to support dialogue and relationship building between urban youth and families, the police, and other divisions of government, as well as, our community partners. Through the development of camps, trainings, workshops and community events, we strive to engage a diverse group of youth to create stronger neighborhoods and a better city. HCYC will support the emotional and academic development of youth in kindergarten through 12th-grade who live in the Orchard Trace Community by engaging them in pro-social activities, mentoring, and educational programing. By engaging them in positive activities during what was previously unstructured time, we will help participants build confidence, interpersonal skills and academic successes that will give them a chance for a better life. In 2020, there were 120 homicide events in Charlotte, North Carolina, leaving family members, loved ones, and our communities heartbroken and in need of urgent action. A disproportionate number of homicide victims and perpetrators were Black males between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. The homicide rate in Charlotte last year was twice the rate from 2018, a significant spike in violence that has not been seen here since 1993. The trauma that many of our communities have experienced due to these devastating events has sparked the need for change and healing. In response to this trauma, Heal Charlotte started working diligently in 2021 to create community change through resilience and trauma-informed approaches that promote community and youth engagement, leadership development, improved governance, and capacity building all centered around the topic of violence prevention. With the work of Stop The Violence CLT and other organizations in Charlotte there was an 18% homicide decrease in the city going from 120 to 98 homicides. This year in 2022 Heal Charlotte is committed to bringing together community members and stakeholders to change the paradigm, and advocate for peace and prosperity. In order to make this happen, we will convene a number of stakeholders from the community that have an invested interest in reducing crime and violence through a series of city-wide violence prevention events and workshops. If you are interested, please reach out to [email protected] - thank you!