WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — People in Winston-Salem are desperate for a way to cut down on violence, after a shooting that left seven people hurt.
"We're tired of it, sick of it," Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. said.
He is among those frustrated with the uptick in violent crime in the city.
"We had a shooting at the mall (Wednesday). You never would've thought you'd see people getting shot driving down Highway 52. It is not just a community problem, it's a countywide problem," Kimbrough said.
For people like Micha James, curbing violence starts at the community level. She works with Our Opportunity to Love and Heal Coalition.
The group was started after the shooting at Mount Tabor High School last fall and works with schools to address violence through outreach programs.
"(We) give them alternatives and opportunities of expression, learning, of love and trying to heal from their own traumatic event but we can't keep up because it's happening too fast," James said.
The city and county are both taking steps to improve safety.
Winston-Salem City Council approved $600,000 to install more safety cameras around town.
The city already has them in 17 locations. They plan to add 18 more.
"This actually helps officers to solve crime faster and it doesn't take officers on the street," Assistant City Manager Patrice Toney said.
Both the city and county are also preparing to launch a Cure Violence program.
Greensboro has a similar one. Volunteers build relationships in communities with high crime rates.
"They can affect change on the inside versus law enforcement trying to regulate on the outside," Toney said.
The program is on track to launch later this summer, meaning it could take time to see results.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is also set to launch a Juvenile Investigative Intervention Team. The eight officer team will be tasked with preventing teen violence.
The county expects the program to start in the next few weeks.