.38 miles of life or death

In an effort to discover the kinds of services gang youth need, a local foundation facilitated a focus group with my boys. Sitting scattered in the chairs that the old church mothers sit in during the week to pray, the facilitators began to ask the boys questions like, “What can solve youth violence?” Although Mitch answered his cell phone the few times it rang, they were paying attention. They answered the question: “I don’t know. Violence will always exist.” The facilitators continued to probe the boys: “If there were services offered at the Boys and Girls Club, would you attend?” “No,” they responded, “the foot traffic is heavy.” “What about the Perkins Community Center?” they asked. “Yes, we’ll go there,” the boys said. I sat back in amazement. Even though I work with them daily, it is still almost unbelievable that this is their world. The Boys and Girls Club is .38 miles from the Perkins Community Center. One’s safe, one’s not. A one-minute distance between two buildings can be a matter life or death for my boys.
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