We (Billy Penn) publish this report each week in partnership with the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting at the Community College of Philadelphia.
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Violence-free zone? House of Umoja looks to 70s-era peacemaking practices to keep teens safe22/8/2022 article excerpt... Organizers say the youth corps, still in its infancy, marks the beginning of a new era for the House of Umoja, which opened in West Philadelphia in 1969. It’s been credited with brokering peace between the city’s most violent gangs at that time. For decades it offered housing, mediation services, and educational assistance to gang-involved boys. Now leaders want to teach teens to act as positive role models and discourage gun violence among their peers. Working on a solution to gun violence and want to share it? Get in touch with gun violence prevention
reporters Sammy Caiola and Sam Searles. Hameen Jackson has his heart set on professional football. For a while, he was waking up at 6 a.m. every day to run so he could stay in shape for the field. He’s got game footage on his phone, and he doesn’t hesitate to pull it up when asked. But the 15-year-old lost track of his mission this spring when he broke into a U-Haul lot and stole a van with some friends. He was placed in jail overnight and put on probation. “It’s easy to get in trouble but it’s hard to get out,” Jackson said. “I just realized that...” Concerned that her son could get roped into more serious crime, his mother Consuela Johnson placed him in the House of Umoja Youth Peace Corps, a new network of young people being taught to change the culture of gun violence among their peers. Jackson was part of the program’s first cohort, which wrapped in June after two months of career preparation, conflict resolution, and other after-school learning sessions. “I want him to come out as a good boy, and to know that just because you made one bad mistake, that doesn’t ruin your life forever,” said Johnson, who is employed by the House of Umoja. “Him being here … he’s with other kids that never got in trouble...” Organizers say the youth corps, still in its infancy, marks the beginning of a new era for the House of Umoja, which opened in West Philadelphia in 1969. It’s been credited with brokering peace between the city’s most violent gangs at that time. For decades it offered housing, mediation services, and educational assistance to gang-involved boys. Now leaders want to teach teens to act as positive role models and discourage gun violence among their peers. “You’ve have to have the young people talking with the young people,” said Jacqueline Taylor-Adams, development director for the House of Umoja and program director of the peace corps. It’s a tall order, with the city’s shooting rates at a record high and youth facing a slew of pandemic-related stressors. Former gang leaders who still work with the House of Umoja say the landscape of gun violence is different now — there are fewer formal groups, and the power and respect that used to be earned by climbing the ranks is now hastily acquired by carrying a gun. Some teens are afraid to be seen as weak, and social media can quickly cause petty interpersonal conflicts to escalate to gunfire... John Johnson, a 68-year-old former Umoja resident who goes by the nickname “Baby John,” says the city can’t give up on young people. “It is different, kids nowadays. But they can be touched,” he said. “If one don’t [listen], another one will. There’s always somebody who takes heed of what we say.” Gun Violence Prevention Tactics From Umoja Leaders
This is a WHYY (PBS Broadcast • NPR) article in the Gun Violence Prevention section of the digital blog. |