'Children in Crisis' was the theme of a conference hosted by Care Lodge Domestic Violence Shelter in Meridian, held in October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Social workers, educators and law enforcement officials from throughout the area met to learn more about the plight of children and how they can help.

Care Lodge officials say there's often a connection between domestic violence and issues facing youth, such as bullying.

"When you look at a child that grows up in a home that domestic violence is taking place, that child is so much more likely to become, to get into a violent situation, whether it's gang-related activities which leads into depression, anxiety, even suicide among our teens," said care Lodge executive director Leslie Payne.

Professionals say it's important to promote positive peer pressure for young people, where they feel the need to do the right thing and the need to avoid others who are not doing the right thing. They say it's important to remember that showing genuine love goes a long way.

Eddie Spencer says he knows about the importance of unconditional, genuine love. The guest speaker for the conference served time behind bars and is now a pastor. He said during his youth he was sent six times to a juvenile facility before being convicted at the age of 16 for attempted murder.

"Really, it was a lot of un-dealt with anger that was building up on the inside of me," Spencer said.

Spencer said it was built-up anger from events in his childhood. That's what he feels led him to act out and that's what he thinks is causing many young people to also act out today.

"They are crying out. They are asking for somebody to help them," said Spencer. "And a lot of times we ignore the cry because we say, you know, 'that's a bad boy', 'that's a bad girl'. And we don't want to deal with them but those are the ones we need to be running to. Because if we don't impact their lives, they are going to impact our life in a negative way."