After Lynn teens' deaths, how community groups aim to address youth grief, fears

Dozens gathered outside a Buddhist temple in Lynn Saturday for the funeral procession of Kyle Mel, one of two teenagers who was shot and killed in the city two days after Christmas, just days after his 19th birthday.

Several family members and friends embraced as Mel's casket was carried out of the temple and into a hearse. More than 50 cars lined up to follow it to a Peabody cemetery, where Mel was buried.

Mel and 16-year-old Isaiah Acevedo were shot outside a gas station on Camden Street. Police have not yet arrested anyone in connection with their deaths.

The two teens, both students of Lynn Classical High School, were killed a little more than 24 hours after three people were shot and seriously injured near a Pizza Hut in Lynn. Police arrested an 18-year-old last week in connection with the triple shooting.

The incidents reanimated recurrent conversations about youth and gun violence in the city, spurring various community groups, school officials and authorities to take new actions to support grieving or at-risk teens.

At East Coast International Church, Jesse Lobato, a youth pastor and Lynn resident, said he's heard some teens express concerns about their safety living in the city.

“What concerns me … is when you hear youth having conversations [about violence], and you realize it's starting to become normalized in their lives,” Lobato said. “And it should never be that way.”

His church runs a weekly program for middle and high school students where youth connect with each other and staff in an effort to "develop positive examples of community."

He called the efforts between organizations to address anxiety and grief among youths "beautiful," adding that "there's a community of people that genuinely want to show the best of Lynn and are willing to do whatever it takes to see that happen."

After Mel and Acevedo's deaths, Lynn Classical students returned to classrooms last week to an increased police presence. The city assigned a uniformed officer to remain on high school grounds while classes are in session.

"In the long term, we are also evaluating staffing options to assign an officer to a fulltime School Resource Officer position more permanently," read a letter sent to students and parents from Lynn police and the school district's superintendent.

The letter continued to describe "ongoing efforts" by police and community groups "to disrupt gang recruitment" and "provide a way out of gangs to those who want it."

In another statement, Robert Bishop, executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Lynn Public Schools, said the district partnered with groups "dedicated to fostering trusting relationships with our youth by addressing trauma, combating community violence, finding pathways, and offering hope.”

“This was a terrible tragedy,” Mike Curley, a teacher in the social studies department who taught both teens, said. “We are doing everything we can, as teachers and district staff, to prevent it from happening again, and to support our students in the face of this violence.”

Leaders at Roca Inc., one of the organizations working with the district, said it will take a "multi-pronged" strategy and the efforts of many groups with established ties to the community to strengthen relationships with at-risk youths.

“This is so sad and tragic, and people are obviously disturbed and emotional about it,” said Emily Fish, assistant director of Roca Inc. in Lynn. “But I also think that the community response has been, ‘We want to do something, we want to help make this community safer.’ ”

Fish said Roca Inc. will work as part of a network of community-based organizations, like  Stop the Violence: Lynn, as well as the Justice Resource Institute, to provide a range of services to youths.

Counselors with Roca Inc. often use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques with youths, Fish said, to "help young people learn the skills they need to understand what they're feeling." She added that the group, which currently works in high schools in Chelsea, also tries to integrate restorative justice practices to help teens break cycles of violence and poverty.

“If you're experiencing a lot of trauma, especially when you're young, the brain stem in your brain becomes larger,” said Fish. “So you're more easily in the fight or flight mode."

The group's focus on cognitive behavioral therapy helps disrupt that response pattern, she said. In Chelsea, Roca Inc. utilizes a time block set aside by schools to focus on the theory of this treatment. The group hopes to do similar work in Lynn.

“Lynn is far more than just the violence that has occurred in the city," Fish said. "It's a beautiful community. … We can still hold on to hope and faith that things will get better.”