John Bailey isn’t looking for answers to youth and gun violence in Denver – yet.

Bailey chairs the Colorado Black Round Table, which held a discussion Monday on youth violence at New Hope Baptist Church.

About 60 people attended the event, which was not about finding solutions as much as networking among stakeholders, NGOs and state and local officials.

“What most of you all don’t know is that Denver is a diversionary city,” Bailey said. “What that means is that we wait for kids to get in trouble. Then we help.

“That’s backwards.”

Bailey said he hopes a collaborative group will emerge to tackle the issue.

An earlier discussion occurred during spring break with families speaking about their concerns over gun violence while the community was still reeling from the shooting of two East High School administrators.

The shooting at the district’s flagship high school on March 22 appears to have been a watershed moment for Denver Public Schools.

While there have been other incidents of gun violence – most notably Luis Garcia, who died two weeks after being shot in the East High School parking lot in February – it was the shooting of two administrators that prodded the board into action that temporarily returned police to the district’s comprehensive high schools and instructed Superintendent Alex Marrero to create a long-term safety plan expected before the end of the month.

Monday’s panelists included, among others, DPS Board President Xóchitl Gaytán, East High School Principal Terita Walker, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Each of the panelists spoke with alarm about what they saw as an increase in youth violence.

Since she was elected in 2017, Denver has had 96 youth murdered, die of an overdose or commit suicide, McCann said.

Some of the panelists blamed the violence on poverty.

Others – such as Marjorie B. Lewis, a licensed marriage and family therapist – strongly disagreed.

“I have a problem with demonizing poverty,” Lewis said. “Being poor does not mean you’re a criminal.”

Denver Mayor-elect Mike Johnston and Council Members-elect Shontel Lewis and Darrell Watson – who spoke publicly for the first time since winning the election – pledged to address the issue.

“There is no one way to solve this,” Johnston said. “There is no one organization that can do this alone.”