EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – The Illinois State Police is teaming up with East St. Louis community leaders and churches to help build safer communities.

There is a big event planned this week to help take a bite out of crime.

“We provide a safe haven. We feed breakfast every Sunday and Saturday…and they are coming over to receive the love that we are offering them,” Pastor Dr. Zachary Lee, Mount Paran Missionary Baptist Church, said.

The ISP is being proactive teaming up with residents in the south end of East St. Louis to host a community event called resources and strategies for stronger and safer community.

Pastor Lee’s church was selected to host the event because of its central location.

“We have noticed that the problem seems to be trending from the ages 12 to 15; it’s not the adults,” he said.

“We believe that solutions come from within, so we are going to allow the people and their parents to come and we will have them express in their own words what they feel the problem is and we are going to try to come up with some type of solutions with seems to be the problem.”

Authorities said public safety is a team effort between law enforcement and the community.

“What we found it’s not about arresting individual or sending people to jail, we are looking at a holistic approach where we can prevent someone from becoming a victim or an offender,” Lt. Elbert Jennings, Illinois State Police, said. “We are trying to break the cycle and we believe this is an ingredient to break that cycle of violence.”

Law enforcement will work with residents to come up with solutions.

“The goal is to bring them under one roof and have them in the south end, so the residents can come from the south end to this one place and see all the different resources available that free and help them out,” Jennings said.

The event is Thursday night, beginning at 5 p.m. at Mount Paran Baptist Church.