Mayor Allen Joines has announced a Youth Violent Crime Summit to be held on October 30, 2025, at The Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem. The event is also being led by Council Member Annette Scippio, Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, and Police Chief William Penn.
The summit aims to bring together community organizations, individuals working to address youth violence, and young people for discussions and round-table exercises. According to the organizers, “Our goal is to foster meaningful conversations about youth violent crime and explore potential solutions together.”
This event is structured as a two-part summit, with a second session scheduled for December 2, 2025. Organizers stated that the key objectives are for professional agency partners, families, city government, community leaders, and youth “to come together and begin conversations as to how to respond to youth violent crimes in our community and to identify impactful violent crime reduction solutions.”
Currently, there is a waitlist for those interested in attending. The mayor’s office has requested that those who wish to participate contact them at mayorsoffice@cityofws.org, as walk-in attendees cannot be accommodated.
Members of the media are invited to attend from 5:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for interviews and the presentation portion of the summit.
