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Acclaimed crime prevention program comes to city
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem is the latest
9.ity looking to a nationally
praised youth anti-violence
program to help motivate
youngsters from low-income
neighborhoods to address
crime issues.
About 50 young people
between the ages of 9 and 18
- mostly from the city's pub
lic housing neighborhoods -
took part in a two-day confer
ence over the weekend that
introduced them to the Youth
Crime Watch (YCW) program.
The program aims to foster
youth leadership while giving
young people the opportunity
to find solutions" to combat
crime and other issues in their
communities.
"Most programs involve
adults telling youth how to
behave, but we wanted youth
to take control," said Alvin
Atkinson, deputy director of
the Winston-Salem State Uni
versity Center for Community
Safety. "There has been some
reduction in juvenile violence
here, and we have to continue
that, and we have to get the
youth to take control of their
own situation."
The Center for Community
Safety is bringing the Youth
Crime Watch program to the
city with the help of the Hous
ing Authority of Winston
Salem, the Police Department
and the city's Recreation and
Parks Department.
The YCW program was
born in Miami in the early
1970s and began to pop up in
other cities by the 1980s.
Here, organizers hope to set up
si* youth crime watches in
various'- neighborhoods. In
each community, the programs
will be youth-led. Young peo
ple have already begun to list
the problems that exist in their
neighborhoods. Through regu
lar meetings, they will develop
ways to address those prob
lems and eventually imple
ment the remedies they come
up with.
The kickoff conference
was held on the campus of
WSSU, where youth partici
pants not only heard presenta
lions from local police officers
and learned the basic tenets of
YCW, but also got a tour of
the WSSU campus and even
took in Saturday's football
game that pitted the Rams
against Virginia Union.
Pernell Mitchell, a sergeant
'in the Lake County, Fla.,
Police Department and a
national trainer for Youth
Crime Watch, was on hand to
motivate participants about
the program. Mitchell says
YCW has made a tremendous
impact in his neck of the
woods.
"We have seen a big differ
ence," he said. "And this pro
gram not only reduces crime;
out of it we have gotten future
-leaders as well."
In between giving the
youngsters an overview of the
program, participants were
also put in mock situations to
gauge how they would
respond. Atkinson believes
that by working with young
people, problems can be head
ed off before they even begin.
"We had some focus
groups, and there were some
youth who said that selling
drugs was not a crime. We
now have an opportunity to
change that whole mind-set,"
he said.
Bill McClain. youth servic
es coordinator for HAWS, said
that crime is already down in
public housing, thanks, in part,
to the Police Department's
commitment to provide com
munity safety officers. He said
the YCW program will only
add to the success. McClain
said he also likes the idea of
forging friendships among
young people from various
public housing communities
through the program.
"It will break down some
harriers and some walls and
some turf issues," McClain
said.
Mitchell said the program
is gaining popularity across
the country as communities
look for new ways to address
youth crime.
"Wherever you go ? Any
Town, USA - we have prob
lems with crime, so wherever
you go there is a need fof
Youth Crime Watch." he said.
"It can fit in anyplace."
Atkinson said that at leasf
six local young people will go
to the second annual National
Youth Crime Watch Associaj
tion Conference in Miami next
spring. j
- . . v
?*?' Photos hy Kevin Walker
Winston-Salem State University students Lunday Talley and Lakisha Tharrington try to keep
young conference participants busy during a break in the action last week. )
^J
Alvin Atkinson of the WSSU Center for Community Safety
addresses the young people.
Race
from page A3
program that aims to help Hispan
ic parents take more of an active
role in their children's education,
said Hispanics believe in the
American dream just like every
other group.
"They want to
succeed....They want access," she
said.
A local rabbi rounded out the
panel. Mark Strauss-Cohn, rabbi
at Temple Emanuel, said that dis
icussions about race must move
|bfeyond forums and discussion
groups and into the mainstream in
I order for strides to be made.
I Strauss-Cohn said education
and a certain level of sensitivity
are also needed. For example, the
rabbi said several members of his
; synagogue have complained to
' him that their children feel out of
! place when school sports teams
| collectively pray before competi
' tions.
i
l ?
"Before a game there is a
prayer circle, which is wonderful
for those who believe in Jesus, but
for those who don't, it is very dif
ficult," he said.
Solutions offered to the prob
lem of racial inequality were var
ied and plentiful. Baieffeld said
Crossing 52 i>s building bridges
each day through its activities,
such as the monthly potluck din
ners the group sponsors.
"When you eat, it breaks
down barriers and yqu talk about
things you don't normally talk
about," she said.
Morris urged the audience to
find at least one friend who is of a
different race than themselves.
Smith said racial relations won't
improve until everyone's' points
of view are considered before
actions are taken. She likened it to
an engineer building a bridge who
does soil analysis on only one side
of the bridge and ignores the other
side. As a result, the bridge buck
les and collapses.
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
71st District
Tel. (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
The Board of Trustees, Administration, Faculty, Staff,
Students and Alumni of Winston-Salem State University
request the honor of your presence at our
Founder's Day Convocation
Friday, October fourth
Two thousand and two
Nine forty-five in the morning
Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium
Speaker
The Honorable Lyons Gray o
North Carolina House of Representatives
Please join lis for the Wreath Placing Ceremony at 8:45 a.m.
in the Kenneth 8 Williams Auditorium Courtyard
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27110
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