VALDOSTA — Finding a solution to the problem of violence, especially youth violence, was the goal of a forum held Friday at the Valdosta City Hall Annex.

Lead by Bishop Wade S. McCrae, pastor at Union Cathedral, the forum brought together clergy, businesses and community leaders to discuss violent crimes and its effects on the community.

Everyone gathered in the room can shoulder some of the blame for the issues facing the community, McCrae said.

“We must choose to be a relevant, consistent part of the solution,” he said.

People must reach out to the youth and show them they care about what is happening on the street, in their education and their needs, McCrae said.

“As a pastor I am not called to be police,” he said. “But I am called to be a traffic director. I call people to Christ.”

Clergy members can assist the city and law enforcement officials in connecting to the community, he said.

Youth must be taught that there are consequences to every choice and they must be better at making choices. They must be instructed to be leaders and not followers, and they must be aware and beware of different issues, McCrae said.

“The children of our community got our attention on Sunday,” Mayor John Fretti said.

Collectively the community must reach out to these youth and not set them aside as one would set them in front of the television, Fretti said.

If the community wants to gain their trust back, they have to do it right and they have to be committed, he said.

Valdosta Police Chief Frank Simons said that he believes the problems today stem from a lack of basic respect among one another.

Young people talk about beating someone up or shooting someone because they have been disrespected, he said.

“I think we have confused respect with fear,” Simons said. “If I fear you, I probably don’t respect you. If I respect you, there is no reason to fear me to you.”

As a Christian, Simons believes the community would do better to adhere more to the ideals laid out in the Ten Commandments.