The biggest issue identified by gang members was their need for jobs and the barriers that they faced to employment with criminal records. Related: How Detroit plans to help the city's black youth We committed to work together on a cease-fire and started meeting every other Sunday. And in return, they would work with their individual neighborhoods to bring peace and create a community where our youth could thrive.įrom that meeting, Compton Empowered was created - a community-based gang reduction and intervention initiative focused on empowering ex-gang members to take back their neighborhoods through peace treaties, unity activities and employment opportunities. Their ask was simple: They needed jobs, opportunity, access and understanding. I asked them what I could do to help them stop the violence and if we could work toward peace for the benefit of our children. I was open and honest, and told them I was tired of seeing them kill one another. They couldn't believe that I actually wanted to speak with them and that I treated them with such respect. Many of the men were shocked, yet touched. I asked the men to pull up a chair in a circle, because we are all equal and we're all connected. We all felt the tension and the power that sat in the room. I introduced myself to every single one of them and thanked them for coming.
I was amazed and humbled as more than 75 men and women poured into our community center. On a Sunday afternoon in June 2014, we had our first meeting. I asked them to let the men know that I would like to speak with them about our babies and our future. So I approached people in my community that I knew had influence and could assist me with bringing gang members to the table. I had worked in cities for a decade, and I knew that regardless of how many officers you have on the streets, they can't prevent people from shooting guns and taking lives. We assembled our non-profits together and created opportunities to collaborate and share resources.Īfter beginning with our gang prevention efforts, we began focusing on gang intervention. To intervene before our youth could be tempted to join a gang, we launched middle school mentoring programs and we created summer enrichment programs to expose our children to education institutions and industry. They had the lowest graduation rates and the highest mortality rates.Īfter President Obama launched My Brother's Keeper and issued the call to lift the lowest in order to lift our nation, we got behind him 100% and got to work. Love us.It was almost intuitive to focus on the population that was failing the most, our young boys and men of color. Usually they involve drinking heavily, but sometimes we get more creative. Socials are sporadic special events promoted by /r/LosAngeles.
Content that would normally be removed for self-promotion is allowed within reason. Comments with proper formatting will appear in the Events Table. Posting about a meet-up or event? Use the stickied Meet-up and Events Thread.
"What should I do?" (link broken here, too. "Where should I go?" (link broken, sadly) Please visit the Rules Page for all rules & guidelines. Hit the "edit" link by your username in the sidebar above ⬆️️ to pick a neighborhood. WARNING: /r/LosAngeles contains rules and users known to the State of California to cause cancer.
0 kommentar(er)
