Hampton’s Hopeful Hampton reports declines in shootings and expands youth employment, diversion and relocation services

Leticia Handy, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities, presented the Hopeful Hampton initiative’s annual report to the Hampton City Council, summarizing prevention and intervention work aimed at reducing gun violence and stabilizing youth and families.

Handy said the office’s core focus is prevention, intervention and family stabilization and stressed the program’s “carrot-and-stick” model: city-funded wraparound services combined with enforcement and prosecution where appropriate.

Key program results and figures (as presented): - Summer youth employment grew from 83 participants in 2022 to 147 in 2025, placed across 58 host sites; the program received more than 400 applications this year. - The Hopeful Hampton Divergent program (a 12-week incentivized intervention) had 27–28 participants in the most recent cohort, with 19 completed program successes and 8 reoffenders for a reported 70.4% success rate. - Between 2023 and 2025 the presenter reported an aggregate decrease of “50–57% or higher” relative to 2023 shooting peaks, though Handy noted peaks occurred in 2023 and 2025 and that police data timing can vary by reporting period. - The office reported 169 individuals were…