4 comments

  1. Kingsley is a solid voice in the community on this subject. It is good to know what the facts are about public safety and listening to those who have been working the scene provides a view different from Channel 12 (looking to hype a news cycle) or the CT Post (where headlines may carry more emotion than the subject of the article). Just saying.
    Fear pushes us in irrational directions and often offers “solutions” to the wrong problems, if you stop and reflect.
    So much today about drugs and violence, deaths from gun violence, and yet where was the public at Council hearings on the budget asking for dollars for the schools?

    It is a lot easier to self-medicate than self-educate, isn’t it? When the City public education budget spends $227 Million in 2016 and the Mayor recommends $227 Million for 2017 yet at the same time the Police Budget increases from $87 Million to $106 Million, what are we saying to youth in a poor urban City? Are we saying relatively outsized Police pensions from past contracts are more important than dollars delivered to classrooms for young folks? What indicators are we using? What are the priorities of the community? What are the priorities of leadership? When will leadership speak up? Time will tell.

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    1. *** I know you have to start somewhere and educating the public as to what’s in their neighborhoods, what to look for and ways to deal with it before it gets out of hand. However, I believe identifying the parents or guardians of these kids and getting them involved is very important too! There has to be more than just one political meeting and also ways law enforcement can combat this cancer that is killing our youth and endangering the community! ***

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  2. In June 2009 (in time for the end of the school year/summer vacation for Bridgeport public and parochial schools), the North End Community Council (NECC), Lake Forest Association (LFA), and Lake Forest Block Watch (LFBW/NP) jointly planned and hosted a youth summit/job and recreational opportunity fair at the Lake Forest Club House.

    The Bridgeport PD, Mayor’s Office, RYASAP, et al., were invited to participate in a panel discussion on ways to address citywide youth safety concerns, including proactive ways to address youth violence and drug abuse during a summer of very high youth unemployment/boredom (2009) and a school year ending with escalating youth violence.

    Over 18 youth service/youth recreational opportunity providers from the Bridgeport region were invited to provide information and sign-up opportunities for youth recreation opportunities offered by those organizations. The City was enlisted to provide information on city-provided employment for youth as well as information on corporate opportunities for youth employment. (The City was also enlisted to query local corporations, including non-profits, on existing youth employment programs and/or the possibility of creating such programs in time for the creation of some number of youth summer jobs.)

    Organizations such as the Sheehan Center, Matt Jones School of Martial Arts, The Bridgeport Boys and Girls Clubs, the Police Athletic League, the Beardsley Zoo, the Discovery Museum, The Boy Scouts, The Girl Scouts, The Officer Friendly (David Daniels) Basketball Camp and several other organizations manned stations, providing information on their summer and year-’round programs, signing up dozens of Bridgeport young people for various summer programs, with scholarships arranged by these organizations for many needy youth expressing a desire to take part in the programs.

    Information on city youth employment opportunities and on companies and large non-profits (e.g., Bridgeport and Saint Vincent’s Hospitals) providing youth summer employment opportunities was shared with young people and their parents.

    Matt Jones, The Beardsley Zoo, and the Discovery Museum provided educational, entertaining demonstrations that captured the essence of their learning and recreational offerings.

    Over 200 city youth and their parents attended the summit/opportunity fair, with many of them encouraging the city and host organizations to continue to offer the summit/opportunity fair on an annual basis. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

    But it isn’t too late for the city to enlist the co-operation of two or three civic-minded Bridgeport organizations/churches to work with the city to put something along these lines together in time for this year’s summer break. It probably won’t do much to stop the gang war that has been claiming young lives in Bridgeport for the past several years, but it very well might distract youth not yet involved with gangs away from such activity before boredom, emptiness, and empty pockets steer them in that direction.

    Perhaps one of the areas discussed and explored at tomorrow’s youth summit can be the possibility of putting together a follow-up, citywide youth-safety/opportunity summit such as the one detailed above, featuring a follow-up panel discussion on youth safety that leads into a youth-employment/recreational-opportunity fair(?).

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  3. *** Urban youth need more positive things to do after school and on the weekends during their idle time. Music, sports, entertainment, academic/tech. tutoring, talk and listen groups, volunteer community service type jobs, etc. are all helpful ways! The adult community must get involved in youth lives through many ways, to help them re-direct their energy and attention towards positive avenues in their lives. Yes, it still takes a village today, to help raise a child and help them make better choices throughout their growing years! Remember, these youth will be the future of America in time! *** GOD HELP THEM ***

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