With homicide numbers already deep in the double digits this year, Oakland has a reputation for being one of California’s most violent and crime-plagued cities. But that won’t stop students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland from working hard to change that.

Youth Alive is a non-profit that trains these students to become peer mentors for middle schoolers. Along with the typical stresses of school, many of these student mentors fall asleep in a neighborhood where bullets fly each night. But love and hard life lessons have inspired them to mentor the next generation of kids who may face the problems of dating violence, gang activity and drug use. Listen as mentors and staff in from Teens on Target, a program run by Youth Alive,  share what this program means for them and their community.

You can also check out Five Teenagers, special Oakland North report on the violence prevention efforts of Teens on Target.

You can hear more audio podcasts from Oakland North at ON Radio.