BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont city leaders and Beaumont Independent School District discussed crime among the youth during a joint meeting Monday night.
They said that there's a spike in teenage crime because of a youth mental health crisis.
BISD has provided counselors and hired social workers but they believe it's still not enough.
Joe Evans, a BISD Board Trustee, said many teens committing crimes, also struggle with their mental health.
The joint meeting that took place Monday night is an annual event between Beaumont City Council members and BISD Board members.
"We agreed with the city that is was important that we work together, and as a result we meet at least once a year," said BISD Board President Matilda Hickman.
The biggest topic this year is youth crime.
"We have too many of them out in the middle of the night, they are unsupervised and not engaged," said Beaumont Mayor Roy West.
Mayor West and Hickman agree that crime among the youth is a growing problem.
"You see lots of young kids breaking into cars, you see convenience stores robbed and those are the same children that go to our schools," said Hickman.
To target the issue BISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen said it's important to find the root cause, which he believes is mental health.
"There are so many children who have suicidal ideations. They don't know how to cope because of the world they are growing up in and the exposure to social media and cell phones," Dr. Allen said.
City leaders suggested creating a mental illness task force and reinstating the Green Team, which is a summer internship program for incoming seniors.
BISD leaders are hopeful these programs can get their students back on track, but they said, it all starts at home.
"Make sure your kids are at school. If we can have parents involved in raising their children the more advantages we have and less problems," said Hickman.
Mayor West is optimistic about the future of Beaumont's youth.
"We're up for the challenge, if we're all working together there is nothing we can't overcome," he said.
While no final decisions were made at the meeting, leaders say they will continue discussing a mental health task force to get students they help they need.