Doing crafts, playing video games and talking about difficult issues. That’s how a group of teens spent their time from 9 p.m. March 20 to 6 a.m. March 21 at the Brightwood-Forest Manor Community Center.
The teens were participating in a lock-in hosted by the community center. The event kicked off the organization’s spring violence prevention efforts, said Shonna Majors, the executive director of Brightwood-Forest Manor Community Center.
“We have issues with the kiddos 14 to 18, being downtown and being out and about,” Majors said. “We just wanted to give them a safe space where, if they want to be up all night, we’re going to keep them up all night with activities and a good time.”
The lock-in was hosted at a time when several teens recently have been the victims and perpetrators of violence. The first two homicides of 2026 involved 17-year-old victims Lamar Dominic Miller Jr. and Christian Maradiagas Gonzalez.
At the lock in, the teens also participated in workshops and talks on mental and sexual health, conflict resolution and career exploration.
One of the workshops was led by VOICES, a nonprofit focused on serving Indianapolis youth. Terrance Outlaw, 18, is a member of the group’s Real Talk team, a storytelling program where teens interview their peers.
He said teens can be influenced by violence on TV or in song lyrics. Through his involvement with Real Talk, he wants to help other teens find healthier outlets to solve their problems.
“So we’re just trying to show them that there’s a different way and there’s people out there that want to help them,” Outlaw said.
Ethan McClanahan, 18, said loneliness is one factor driving youth violence. He said community events, like the lock-in, can help young people find connection.
People tend to “lash out their anger onto others,” he said. “So self-hate brings out a lot of violence.”
Jayden Thurston, 14, agrees that youth can find community at events like the lock-in. He said kids are exposed to a lot of stressors in life, including school, current events and situations at home.
“The community has things that can help them,” Thurston said. “It can be resources they need, or they can help the community in some ways.”
Majors said the lock-in isn’t the only event Brightwood-Forest Manor Community Center will have for teens this spring. The community center partners with other organizations including Indy Parks, Indy Peace Fellowship and community leader Anthony Hampton’s spring basketball league.
Majors said workshops and conversations around violence prevention and mental health are incorporated into many of these events.
“We want to try to keep our youth engaged in a positive way,” Majors said.
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Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian or on Bluesky @darianbenson.bsky.social.
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