Central Florida leaders discuss ways to tackle gun violence

ORLANDO, Fla. — Community leaders are hard at work, coming up with ways to stop gun violence in Central Florida.

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They met for hours Monday morning, and ended the day hearing from residents about what they want to see done to make our streets safer.

Orange County leaders have been working on efforts to prevent crime for months now.

Watch: Orange County leaders want the community’s help to find solutions for gun violence

The community gathered to discuss how to tackle gun violence at a meeting organized by State Attorney Monique Worrell.

Panelists, including Rueben Saldana, a former gang leader and ambassador for Credible Messengers, shared their ideas.

“We need to continue funding programs to address gun violence. But who can guarantee it? We’ve been doing it for free for 8-9 years,” Saldana said.

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Worrell emphasized the need for more funding for community programs and called for collaboration from the community.

Many community members expressed their support for helping young people during the public comment section.

Orange County officials are taking steps to address the issue of gun violence as well.

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Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings recently reintroduced the Citizen’s Safety Task Force to help reduce violence in the community.

Additionally, the county has allocated $900,000 towards a Youth Violence Prevention Program.

Worrell promised to put together a proposal to fund social workers to work with advocates and help victims of gun violence.

“I’m committed to putting together a proposal to fund social workers so they can help victims of gun violence,” Worrell said.

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