City of Savannah’s Youth Summit returns

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The city of Savannah hosted its Youth Summit for the first time in several years Thursday, focusing on the importance of emotional intelligence in preventing violence among young people.

“You gotta stay positive,” said high school senior Zyree Coburn. “You can’t let the negative energy get to your brain because when that negative energy gets to your brain, that’s when you go out and do something dumb.”

Positivity and emotional intelligence were two key topics stressed to the youth attending the summit. City officials curated discussions around the consequences of impulsive decisions and emphasized to students that they aren’t alone.

“We want to be able to bring them to a place where they’re actually having those conversations about what happens on the other end of that bullet,” said Taffanye Young, chief of Community Services for the city of Savannah.

“When you pull that trigger, lives are traumatized. You lose your freedom. You not only harm somebody else’s family, you harm your own and your future. And many of the kids have experienced this through other family members, but having them come in and realize that they have more control than they think and that they have options and other people that do care, that there are adults available to them 24/7 that they can reach out to when they feel like they’re in a circumstance where they need some help.”

Students say they learned positive coping skills, and the panels and discussions with their peers have made them feel like they have a support system for the upcoming school year.

“I learned that you’re never alone. There are always people around to talk to,” said recent high school graduate Kyra Bradshaw. “Recently, the adults in the room stood up, and it was just nice to see there are people in the community that you can talk to. Even if you’re nervous to talk to somebody in your home, you can just call the city of Savannah, Mayor Van Johnson. I just learned that you’re never alone.”

“Do yoga, do something like read a book. Positive things,” added Zyree Coburn. “Go to the park, take a little walk. Sit down and talk with someone, like family. Somebody you know on how to regulate your nerves.”

The city plans to host more summits in the future. News 3 will keep you updated on when those dates are posted.