violence

On NPR yesterday, I was listening to a story about gangs, guns, and veterans. Trying to get young gang members to connect with community veterans. Both soldiers with ranks, both having suffered traumatic events. The group was started by a former gang member who serve time for a gang-related murder. His brother a veteran, challenged him with the idea that he had been through traumatic events living on the streets of Chicago.

When I worked at the Boys and Girls Club in the summer, I was working with a lot of kids who lived in Chicago whose families had shipped them up to the area to live with relatives. They were in the area for the summer for their safety, or their family’s peace of mind. Although that realization didn’t even hit me while I was there. It wasn’t until one of my friend’s and co-worker’s brothers was murdered in Milwaukee and was one of the 200 homicides in Milwaukee for 2015.

I was unprepared to be a make role model when I started working with youth but through time and busting stereotypes about teenagers, I found a niche. I found that a lot of other people cannot work with teens. I think overall I can relate to people in transition and teens are in a very tumultuous stage of transitions.

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/25/463875598/chicago-teens-and-combat-veterans-join-forces-in-urban-warriors-program