Link to Original Story

Community taking stand against violence in Cairo

By Crystal Britt

CAIRO, Il (KFVS) - Rocked by recent violent crimes, people in the city of Cairo want it all to stop.

A group came together Thursday night hoping to send a message loud and clear.

"There's an old saying, you have to crawl before you walk. We're crawling, but pretty soon we'll start to walk," said Cairo Mayor Judson Childs.

It's a city many have given up on, but it's also a city many people love and want to see improve.

"It's a good place to live," said Les Williams.

"I think people need to come here first and see how it is instead of judging our city," said Joshua Jordan.

"It's peaceful, most of the time," said Jalecia Purdiman.

It's those times of unrest and violence that stands out in people's minds.

In fact, just Monday in Cairo two women were found dead inside a burned home.

Police say the two died of gunshot wounds.

It's hard for many youth in Cairo to understand.

"A lot of kids are close to the situation because of the close knit community, most kids knew people in the particular situation," said mentor Quitman McBride Junior.

Also recently, police say someone set a school bus on fire destroying it and damaging two others.

That's not to mention the continuous string of suspicious fires, one after another homes burning with no suspects in sight.

"They see violence all around them," said McBride.

"You always hear the negative things about the kids, they're awesome...they're not all bad," said Melanie Ballard.

It's something Teen REACH workers at the Delta Center in Cairo want to highlight and build upon.

"This is an environment that really needs a lot of help. We have a low educational problem over here, one of the lowest financial problems over here," said McBride.

"The children really need something to do, and places to go," said Shirley Jordan.

"I'm hoping they'll get the message, don't be a follower be a leader. Don't let anyone talk you into fighting or gangbanging," said Mayor Childs.