Earlier this week, Detroit city leaders announced plans to combat the sudden rise in teen violence this summer. Now, community violence intervention organizations have their own strategy.

The six groups have started a new basketball league to keep teens off the streets. Those groups are FORCE Detroit, Detroit Friends and Family, the People's Action, Team Pursuit, Detroit 300, and Live in Peace.

Cierra Renee, the director of the program FORCE Detroit, says that because of crime grant cuts by the U.S. Department of Justice, they need the public's help to keep the program going.

"We had to make some adjustments to our organization to make sure we kept staffing, and it, unfortunately, did interrupt some of the programming that we did as well," Renee said.

Coach Rio watches his basketball team practice from the sidelines. He grew up surrounded by crime.

"Most of the time during the summer, a lot of the violence or trouble being caused is because nobody got nothing to do. They be bored," he said. "It's easy to get influenced by it, but I was just different, like, I'm not going to lie, for a minute, you it was leading that way."

Thanks to mentors like Coach Tee, Rio changed his life for the better. Now, Rio is sharing his wisdom with the next generation on the court.

"You got people that really care for you and motivate you, and build your confidence too. Like, once they started helping, I'm like, that's something I can do," he said. "Nowadays, it's about being a bigger person," Rio H. said.

Renee says there was no funding available for the basketball league from the city.

"No funding by the city in terms of, like, all the logistics and things that we needed. We had to pay for referees. We have practice days, and we still got kids that we bring to practice that we want to provide food for, even waters and things like that," Renee said.

While Detroit Parks and Recreation did provide a donation for their uniforms, there's still the cost of transportation.

"To go from 48228 to the Eastern Market, it's kind of tough. It's a strain on parents, it's a strain on the organization, and these kids want to be here," Renee said.

The community groups are looking to partner with a private donor, business or foundation to keep the basketball league going.

"Our program is absolutely free for them to come and be a part of, which is why we need funding, because we want to involve as much kids as possible," Renee said.

They say that by bringing more teens into this safe space, it will hopefully put a stop to the violence and save lives.

Games are on Saturday at the Coleman Young Recreational Center.

Anyone interested in helping with the program can visit FORCE Detroit's website.