The 704 Way Project Tackles Youth Violence in Charlotte

The city of Charlotte is partnering with marketing agency CMRignite and local youth mentoring organization My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg (MBKCM) to ensure that young people in Charlotte have a seat at the table in the fight against community violence — and it’s not the kids’ table.

The 704 Way project is a collaborative, youth-led movement designed to disrupt cycles of violence by empowering youths to become the architects of Charlotte’s peace-building strategy, according to MBKCM executive director Ricky Singh.

My Brother’s Keeper is driving the youth engagement strategy, an effort built on the organization’s nearly eight years of work ensuring young people reach their full potential through educational and workforce advancement.

Project leaders have appointed a slate of local teens aged 18 and under to make up the project’s first youth advisory board, which will steer positive programming in the community.

“I think what we’re learning is that youth want to provide positive spaces and experiences in the neighborhoods like neighborhood pop-ups and finding ways where we can elevate that,” Singh explained.

The project will aim to garner positivity through in-person events while utilizing social media to provide positive messaging.

“Sometimes the loudest story isn’t always the story of the majority,” Singh said. “So how do we use social media in a creative way, where they can tell positive stories of Charlotte youth that are already occurring?”

MBKCM put out a call to local youths interested in applying for the board in early February and local artist Jackson Myles posted a video on his Instagram page to promote the project.

Read More: Alternatives to Violence Builds Momentum on Nations Ford Road (2025)

“It’s not just about stopping the violence,” Myles said. “It’s about replacing the violence with something productive. How can we get these kids in the position to succeed?”

The project is ultimately a marketing and communications campaign that the youths have complete control over, from the direction to the images, language and tactics used to spread the message, according to Nepherterra Best, CMRignite’s vice president of integrated communications.

The 704 Way set out to find kids that have an interest in creative storytelling or are leaders and neighborhood advocates, Singh said.

Though applications for the board ended Feb. 15, Best said there will be plenty of opportunities for interested kids to participate down the road.

While the main phase of the project will involve securing the youth advisory board, the second phase will include assembling a small group of adults to serve as “thought partners,” offering input to the kids on the board. Singh also told Queen City Nerve they will be integrating college-aged youths from 19-23 years old into the program.

How The 704 Way aims to reduce youth violence in Charlotte

While MBKCM is driving the engagement strategy and CMRignite is heading marketing, the city is providing the data and research that grounds the project, including causes around youth violence, Singh said.

Officials with the city’s Office of Youth Opportunities — formed in 2025 to better integrate the work being done by different city agencies such as Alternatives to Violence (Housing & Neighborhood Services), Peer Mediation (Community Relations), and Juvenile Diversion (CMPD) — have worked closely with the project’s leaders to think through strategies and participate as thought partners.

The city set the foundation for the project, according to Singh.

CMPD’s annual crime statistics report for 2025 revealed that incidents involving juveniles as suspects dropped by 11% last year, with the number of juveniles suspected of committing violent crime reduced by 9% and juvenile property crime suspects down 19%.

The department credits that drop to its Juvenile Accountability Diversion and Empowerment (JADE) team, saying it has played a critical role in addressing youth involvement in crime since its launch in 2024.

While youth violence intervention efforts like JADE focus on reducing recidivism and reacting to tragedy through police enforcement, the 704 Way will be primarily proactive, centering on shifting the cultural norm through youth messengers, Singh said.

The 704 Way aims to reach youth before they enter the justice system while also impacting those already in it by aiming to change the culture in some communities where violence has become an accepted solution to problems.

Read More: New Report Shows Promise for Violence Interruption on Beatties Ford (2025)

Both proactive and reactive approaches are important in reducing youth violence, according to Singh.

“I think we need layers when we talk about a social issue,” he said. “It’s got to be like a lasagna, especially if we’re thinking about how many people are impacted by something like [youth violence]. So, to me, I don’t think it’s [as much] an ‘or’ as it is an ‘and.’

”I think both are important as we think about building cultures of peace in our city,” he added.

Empowering Charlotte’s next generation of leaders

The project’s goal is to empower young people to be influencers in a positive way and use their gifts and talents for good, Best said.

With all of the daily challenges young people in high school and middle school face, the project strives to engage them in the campaign and position them as influencers amongst their peer groups.

The goal is for these participants to get their friends involved and potentially change their reactions and overall approach to conflict, she said.

Adolescents are more influenced by their peers’ opinions than adults, according to a study by the Raising Children Network.

While peer influence can be negative and lead to unhealthy or risky behaviors, the 704 Way project aims to position youth leaders as positive influences that encourage their peers to be a part of the campaign.

While CMRignite is providing assistance to the youth advisory board, this project is for the youth, by the youth, Best insisted.

“This is all about young people,” she said. “We are here as an agency [and] subject matter experts and to kind of provide the framework, but ultimately we’re going to have young people from our community really helping us design a campaign.”

In the coming weeks, project organizers will recruit a creative cohort of youths aged 10-24 who will provide creative consultation, working directly with CMRignite’s creative team and art directors for the campaign.

Not only will the project give kids the opportunity to contribute to a community campaign, it may also spark an interest in marketing, design or social media.

They’ll learn transferable skills that they can put to use in their future careers, Best said.

Once the project is up and running, Singh said officials will provide paid experiences in the summer for youths interested in rethinking neighborhood pop-up and social media strategies that attract their own peer groups.

Participants will be onboarded and learn about tools like Adobe and Canva, allowing them to take what they already innately know about their peer group and make something special, he said.

“We’re not rewriting their approach,” Singh said. “We’re just giving them more foundation and access, and that’s important.”

Because the campaign’s theme will be driven by the youth advisory board, the direction will be decided by board members, who were appointed on Feb. 20 and whose names will be made public this week.

CMRignite’s participation will mirror a similar youth campaign it aided in Milwaukee.

While the marketing team provided participating kids with the fundamentals they needed in that project, Best said the young people’s input in changing words and key details made the campaign that much more impactful.

“Our goal is that this campaign, whatever it ultimately ends up looking like, will encourage our youth to think before making decisions or before taking actions that can negatively impact their lives and the lives of their loved ones,” she said.

“It’s an exciting step in innovation in our city,” Singh added. “I’m excited that we’re taking that step; not building a kiddie table, but actually building a real table where the next generation is helping to lead it. The biggest change that will happen is going to be from [the youth], not you and me.”