Four teenagers were shot in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood last weekend, and on Thursday, a coalition of organizations came together to address the needs of young people on the city's West Side.

The coalition was composed of faith leaders, violence interruption organizations, and community groups.

"Our young people are busy not being engaged in a positive manner, because of the fact that they don't have employment," said Pastor Floyd James of Greater Rock Missionary Baptist Church.

Jaylen Franks, 17, lives on the West Side and is a member of the group Chicago Positive Youth Development.

"We really got to come together as a whole, for real," said Jaylen.

Illinois state Sen. Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago) represents parts of the West Side, and had members of violence interruption groups by her side.

"How can we together — as a church, violence interrupters and elected officials — come together and ensure that everybody feels safe?" said Collins.

Around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Chicago police said a man pulled out a gun and fired shots into a crowd of people after arguing with another man in the 700 block of South Springfield Avenue. 

A 14-year-old boy was shot in the chest, a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were each shot in the leg and thigh, and a 16-year-old girl was shot multiple times.

The Rev. Robin Hood, who called for the meeting, said the shooting stemmed from a fight two teens had earlier in the day. Retaliation took place in the form of gunfire.

"I went down there. I heard the gunshots," said the Rev. Hood, founder of Mothers Opposed to Violence Everywhere, "and being traumatized like I was — seeing kids, senior citizens in fear."

All four teens survived, but the trauma remains. 

"We try to break the cycle of violence and that starts mentality," said Les Jenkins, associate director of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago.

The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago is helping the families of the four teens who were shot. With privacy laws, Jenkins could not give specifics about each teen — but he did talk about the care the organization provides in such situations.

"Services could be anywhere from helping them realize a new reality to the services that we may offer," Jenkins said.

Those services can include providing behavioral health specialists and family therapists. The group also works to prevent retaliation in the aftermath of a shooting.

"And what that looks like is spending a lot of time, offering more programs, offering more assistance, also getting a relationship with the families to address the untreated issues that they're dealing with," Jenkins said.

A townhall meeting is planned for next month to get all of the groups together to hold an in-depth discussion regarding solutions to the violence, job funding, and more resources for the young people on the West Side.