With schools closed, many teens and young adults may be unsupervised and disengaged from education programs.
Santa Barbara City officials will hold a neighborhood safety meeting to discuss the prevention of youth gang violence, domestic violence and the spread of viral infection in the homeless population.
The press conference is set to be held Monday, April 20th at 1 p.m. at the David Gebhard Public meeting room located on 630 Garden St.
The city said the press conference is meant to share how public safety has been impacted by the coronavirus and City actions to protect the community’s health and safety.
All comments will be translated to Spanish to help the bilingual community participate.
The following city leaders are expected to speak at Monday's meeting:
- Mayor Cathy Murillo
- Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, District 3
- Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez, District 1
- Lori Luhnow, Chief of Police
- Laura Dubbels, Housing and Human Services Manager
- Saul Serrano, South Coast Task Force on Youth Safety Coordinator
The city recently adopted a Youth Safety Partnership Strategic Plan that is focused on youth violence prevention, intervention, and suppression.
"Parents and the community at large can take action to ensure families are honoring social distance requirements, reporting crimes and suspicious behavior observed in their neighborhood, and promoting healthy, positive activities for at-risk youth who are no longer in school or interacting with support programs," said Nina Johnson, the senior assistant to the Santa Barbara City Administration.
City leaders will also discuss recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control to take prevention measures with the homeless population to reduce the potential for infectious disease spread in the community.
