As summer approaches, civil rights leader says Hampton Roads faces crime-based crisis

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The President of the Urban League of Hampton Roads had just returned from a meeting in Atlanta with civil rights icon Andrew Young when he learned three children in Hampton Roads, the youngest only nine-days-old, were killed due to recent acts of violence.

“It’s disturbing and frankly it breaks my heart, to be honest,” Gil Bland said.

Saturday, an unresponsive nine-day-old baby girl with broken bones and burns on her feet was taken to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters where doctors pronounced her dead. Her homeless parents are charged with murder.

Police say a 16-year-old boy shot and killed by another 16-year-old boy Tuesday afternoon in the Level Green neighborhood of Virginia Beach.

In Portsmouth, police are still trying to find the person who opened fire and killed a 10-year-old boy in the Cradock section of the city.

Bland said time is not on our side.

“We are in a crisis,” Bland said, “and it’s a crisis that’s about to be exacerbated because it’s summer months. Our young people who are normally in a structured school system will be on vacation. We need to find acceptable alternatives to loitering and being unemployed. I invite any community, civic, nonprofit leader, or faith-based community. Let’s reason together and talk about ways that we can help.”

Bland knows what it means to need help. He grew up in the tough streets of Chicago, and his father had a seventh-grade education.

“I call on the faith-based communities and nonprofits, my fellow nonprofit organizations, our schools, and … seek to identify where we know there are challenges,” Bland said. “And let’s sit together and convene and think of solutions.”

For any family looking for help to rescue their children and the entire family, Bland asks that you call the Urban League of Hampton Roads. The number to call is 757-627-0864.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.