The mission of Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders is "to nurture young minds and make a meaningful impact" on the community it serves, but city officials say the nonprofit youth program is doing so much more.

"Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders -- through the sports, education and mentoring it offers -- is actually helping to reduce the violent crime rate here in Bridgeport." said Mayor Joe Ganim Friday. "We told folks earlier this week how the Bridgeport murder rate has dropped 50% over the past five years -- and today we're showing them how a big part of that decrease comes to us courtesy of Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders."

Tahmina Emu, 21, of Bridgeport, spent seven years in the program and now works for the nonprofit that runs it. She says BCYL gave her a safe haven and a path forward, allowing her to become the first person in her family to go to college.

"It kept me in school and off the street, and it's doing the same for hundreds of other young people," Emu said. John Torres, who founded BCYL and runs it, says the nonprofit is "literally saving young lives". "It's amazing to consider how far-reaching the impact has been -- and how much good we're accomplishing here," Torres said.

New numbers compiled by the Bridgeport Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit show a steady decrease in both fatal and non-fatal shootings between 2020 and today.