LANSING, Mich. — 18-year-old Jack Reid has rhymes for days, and a message he wants you to hear.
“I started making music like that because music helps heal,” he said.
Reid said his city needs to heal at a time when gun violence among teens is a big issue in Lansing, and he’s experienced it first-hand.
“Yeah, I lost people to gun violence,” he said. “I lost a cousin, and I also lost a guy from my block."
There are a lot of people pushing for answers.
“It’s a team effort,” said Michael Lynn.
Lynn is one of the founders of Village Lansing, an organization that does work to prevent gun violence among Lansing youth. He said the city should turn to local organizations to help solve the problem.
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“I guess the bigger picture is to stop talking about unity and bring everyone to the table because there are organizations who actually wok with youth that may know more than people in city offices," he said.
Going back to Reid, he's hoping that one day that there will be a sense of unity in Lansing, instead of violence.
“I seen what a lot of people could do when they come together, and we should stop the hatred,” he said.
