APOPKA, Fla. — The Florida Economic Consortium invited community members to the City of Destiny Church in Apopka Saturday morning for a discussion on ways to curb youth violence.

The news conference highlighted the Wekiva Youth Sports Association, also known as the Wekiva Jr. Mustangs, which gives young people a chance to get involved in football and cheerleading.

“It is pretty much our goal just to keep the kids engaged,” said Herb West, the Wekiva Jr. Mustangs’ president and founder. “We are trying to fill stadiums, not prisons.”

West told Spectrum News it’s not all about sports: rather, young members of the Wekiva Jr. Mustangs also learn social skills and other tools to help them thrive in everyday life. Overall, the idea is to keep kids busy with positive, productive activities — before they turn to violence.

“What we are pushing for is trying to make it a year-round thing,” West said. “So that way we’ve always got the kids, and the kids do not have any time to do anything except homework and us.”

Florida Economic Consortium President Rod Love echoed West’s thoughts, telling Spectrum News, it’s critical to point kids in the right direction early. 

“The earlier you can reach young people, the better you can basically get through to them,” Love said.

Although youth violence is understandably a major concern in many communities, including Central Florida, federal data indicate arrest rates for youth who commit violent crimes have been trending downward for more than a decade. 

Between 2010 and 2020, violent crime arrests involving youth declined by 56 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. That’s a steeper drop than the 37 percent decline the DOJ observed for violent adult arrests during the same period.

However, while arrest data helps measure who’s entering the justice system, they do not capture every single crime committed or every separate individual arrested, according to the DOJ.

Preventing youth violence requires a multifaceted approach, Love said: the responsibility can’t just fall on one entity. 

“The community has to take a position,” Love said. “Yes, we have law enforcement in communities. We also have the state attorney’s office that prosecutes cases, we also have the courts. Our justice system is later.”

“There is just not one player,” Love said. “The community also has to be a player in this as well.”

Love said the Wekiva Jr. Mustangs is currently privately funded, thanks to individual and business contributions – but that Orange County Government has a lot to do with why those contributions came through. 

"It never would have been able to probably been done, if it weren't for the fact that Orange County is already funding things," Love said. "And businesses and communities said, we’ll leverage and support what Orange County is doing – out of our own pockets.”

Love said the Consortium has provided financial support to three other local groups serving youth, via funding Love previously received from the Orange County Citizens' Commission for Children. Those groups are: The King Solomon Foundation; Morgan Ministries; and Power Teens, Love said.

Love said data compiled by the Consortium indicate the three youth programs have already saved taxpayers approximately $38,000, compared to the daily cost of detaining a young person in detention. 

As of now, approximately $15,000 has been raised for the Wekiva Jr. Mustangs, according to Love – enough to keep the group afloat for about six months. After that, Love hopes he'll be able to present Orange County with program results compelling enough to attract more, public funding.