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GREENSBORO City Councilwoman Goldie Wells is holding a community meeting to bring together parents and church leaders looking to help police curb teenage crime and violence.

What can churches, community organizations and parents do to stop teen crime? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

The meeting will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 15 at the Evangel Fellowship Church of God in Christ, 2007 E. Cone Blvd.

In August, Wells attended a forum on gangs that drew more than 250 people and inspired the latest meeting.

"At that forum, the police told us that they don't have the resources to do the right prevention," Wells said. "They can put them away, but to stop it from happening, the whole community has to get involved the parents, the schools and the churches."

Wells said police officers, including some from the police department's new gang unit, have told her that one of the main causes of youth crime is teens not being involved in their communities. Churches are particularly suited to change that, Wells said.

"The churches are part of the community already, they know the families and they have the facilities," Wells said. "They have fellowship halls, they can hold supervised activities, they can give these kids some kind of alternative. They can get them involved in something that doesn't lead to crime and gangs."

Wells recalled the results from a meeting between the Pyramids Village Merchants Association and its neighbors last summer to help curb break-ins in the area.

When those attending the meeting saw the number of break-ins go down, they decided to tackle larger problems.

Wells wants to keep these community meetings going.

"If you get everybody working together, you can accomplish things," Wells said. "We want to prove that."

Contact Joe Killian at 883-4422, Ext. 228, or joe.killian@news-record.com