Blog post title: Giving the Youth a Voice
In this blog post this week I wanted to talk about a couple issues within many at risk neighborhoods. I recently read an article written by Brian Higgins titled “Helping at risk youth say NO to Gangs”. In this article the author talks about ways to prevent the youth from joining gangs. He talks about a program called the “The Gang Resistance Education And Training”, The G.R.E.A.T. Program. This program is to teach kids to avoid getting involved in gangs and help them develop positive relationships with law enforcement, Higgins (2015). I believe the G.R.E.A.T program doesn’t provide these kids with the guidance that is necessary for them at the vulnerable age and stage they’re in. In order to prevent kids from joining gangs we must
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Most of these kids struggle to find healthy ways to express themselves, and they usually don’t have a strong support system. In the article it states how the G.R.E.A.T Program helps kids to develop relationships with Police officers. I for one am not in favor of this program. I don’t feel it helps the youth or the community in a positive way. I believe schools should first build relationships with these students and provide programs such as Big Brother, Big Sister. With the Big Brother, Big Sister programs they can have someone who can actually connect with these students on a mental and emotional level. The Big brother or sister could be young adults who have possibly been in their shoes before. They would know how to connect with the younger people. They would be there for these students and also provide moral support and guidance to our youth. The G.R.E.A.T program mentioned in the article, does no good for neighborhoods of the sort. They need people who have made it out of the situations such as current college students, business owners, and public figures