Nashville students have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to addressing teen violence.
On Thursday, Pearl Cohn High School students put on a skit about the growing issue and ways to find permanent solutions.
The skit was held at the Z. Alexander Looby Center in North Nashville. Violent crimes have affected all of the students on stage in some way.
They came up with the theme of youth violence, specifically street violence, on their own and during the skit asked audience members for participation.
“We hear on the news all the time there’s someone robbing someone or just taking things for no reason," junior Makiah Wade said.
Wade said she wanted to be a part of the play because she wants to put a stop to the city's growing issue.
"A lot of people that I know are dying. Just seeing young people die is crazy. It's like they're there and now they're gone I just don't think it's okay," Wade said.
The students wrote some scripts then chose one that was most believable and impactful for the audience.
During the play, a female character experiences street violence and throughout different scenes she tries to make the best decision on how to overcome her problem. At one point, the audience was called upon to offer their solutions.
"It's not always comfortable. So they are really stepping out of their comfort zones to be able to get the audience to come in and participate and hopefully get people not only just talking about solutions to youth violence but getting some things in motion," community activist and Gideon Army's member Rasheedat Fetuga said.
The student plan to put on their own workshop about youth violence in May and have community participants write their own play.
