Creating Relationships: Protecting the Youth Early

As I looked at him from across a computer screen, I saw the calm of someone who has lived several different lives. When we asked about his background, he shrugged gently, almost apologetically. “I’ve only been the director for less than three months,” he said, but his path to that office was anything but simple.

Adam Procell grew up in Colorado as a normal kid until everything changed at 14 when his best friend was shot and killed. After moving to Milwaukee to live with his mother’s family, he spiraled into gang life and eventually committed a gang-related homicide. He spent half his life in prison. He was paroled in 2018 and redirected his life toward helping young people avoid the same mistakes. He helped write legislation requiring a community re-entry center, taught at universities, and built a reputation for collaboration.

That work is what brought the mayor’s office to his door. He was named the city of Milwaukee’s new Office of Community Wellness and Safety director.

When asked about Milwaukee’s recent spike in youth violence, he didn’t hesitate. “Tragic,” he said. “It’s absolutely horrific.”

He mentioned a shooting outside Assata High School that killed another child. “A kid shouldn’t have their life ended that early.” He told us the causes are complicated. “We as a society have lost the ability to resolve conflict without the use of violence,” he said, pointing to social media as a pressure cooker where “everything is forever,” and reputations feel like life-or-death.

He shared a moment from a recent gun-violence conference: almost every teen in the audience raised their hand when asked if they’d heard gunshots that week. Their proximity to violence, he said, has numbed them. His advice? Find ways to process trauma. Seek mentorship.

“If you don’t figure out how it affects you now, it will harm you later.”

He described programs bringing formerly incarcerated adults into high schools to talk honestly about consequences, as well as efforts to connect youth with jobs and violence interrupters who can de-escalate conflicts. Identifying exposure to violence early, he said, is crucial. When we asked how the community could help, he said, “Daytime programs are helpful, but when kids go back to a dysfunctional home, it gets complicated.”

He stressed parental accountability. After seeing groups of unsupervised youth roaming Water Street on Halloween, he thought, where are their parents?

About New Year’s Eve, he admitted, “I actually hope for a blizzard so that nobody comes out.” He fears how quickly a crowd can turn deadly. Finally, we asked how his past prepared him for this role.

He paused, then said softly that once someone has reached the point of holding a gun, “the battle is already lost.” His experience helps him understand how much time they have before that moment to intervene. And for him, the answer is clear: start early. “The earlier we can create that relationship with some of these youth who don’t have positive role models in their lives, it gives us a chance.”