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Responses:
Subject: Fear of Teen Violence
From: Ari Allan, Seeking Solutions Producer
Date: 09 Sep 1999 12:48 PM
Has fear of crime forced you to change your lifestyle (either by changing friends, skipping school, avoiding certain places or routes you take to school)?
Subject: teen violence fear
From: Tasha Lewis
Date: 11 Nov 2000 7:00 PM
Yes,I am afraid of this type of thing. You see there is this group of girls and they don't like me and there are about 35-40 girls in this group and at least 15 of them live around me. Now me and my family can't even walk up and down th street without having any trouble
Subject: Why to teens get involved in violent acts?
From: Ari Allan
Date: 09 Sep 1999 12:50 PM
Why do teenagers get involved in violent acts, either in school or on the streets?
Subject: why teens get involved in violent acts
From: D. Anstadt
Date: 09 Sep 1999 5:41 PM
I am a school social worker and I participated in several "community talks" last spring (in the northwest suburbs of Chicago), which included principals and superintendents of area schools, chiefs of police, village presidents, representatives of mental health agencies, etc. to address the problem of violence and gangs in our community. Currently we are addressing the problem of school safety in particular. As an outgrowth of our discussions last spring, I worked with a small committee to develop a position paper on why youth find gangs attractive. I believe that this addresses the issue of youth turning to violence as well. The main premise is that joining a "subculture" (particularly one that uses violence) satisfies a basic, inherent need to belong, which is not being met by conventional, or socially sanctioned means. Some children enter school at a disadvantage due to biological and environmental factors that interfere with academic achievement and "fitting in." Low parental attachment, low parental supervision and parents with violent dispositions are also family risk factors. Low commitment to school, low school achievement, low self-esteem, numerous negative life-events, early use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs, are also risk factors. (Howell, James C.,Juvenile Justice Bulletin/Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Washington DC, 1998) Our position is that teens are vulnerable to making poor choices, turning to violence, and violent peer cultures, when they feel alienated from opportunities for healthy peer affiliation, and disconnected from their parents and therefore larger societal values. The disconnection and lack of affirmation that the teen experiences can result in emotional upheaval, a rejection of conventional laws and values, and a loss of respect for authority. Gang membership and affiliation with violent peer cultures, provides the security of a ready made family with clear rules and rigid structure. It provides the illusion of safety and it provides connectedness, as well as an outlet for anger. Developmentally, teens are rarely ready to look beyond the present. They often feel invulnerable to dangers, or too immersed in their own world to care. They are looking for a place to belong, to feel affirmed and to feel safety of the structure that is often not available in their life. If the attachment to parents, and to community is not there, if teens cannot find belonging in school or athletics, religious or social groups, or any positive peer groups, (due to factors such as learning difficulties, low academic achievement, negative life-events, depression, or the inability to form attachments), and if violence solutions are modeled in the home, surely these teens are at risk for engaging in violence. For a copy of our position paper, please call RAPP (847)537-9197. It is not yet posted on a website. I'm anxious to hear other replies, and would appreciate responses to mine as well.
Subject: Can offenders be reformed?
From: Ari Allan, Seeking Solutions Producer
Date: 09 Sep 1999 12:52 PM
If you are or have been an offender, what would it take for you to change? If you have changed, what was your personal turning point that made you want to change?
Subject: What resources are available?
From: Ari Allan, Seeking Solutions Producer
Date: 09 Sep 1999 12:53 PM
For parents and teachers, what kinds of resources are available to you, or what would help you prevent kids from getting involved or becoming victims of violent crime?
Subject: Resources available for prevention of violent crimes
From: Barb Adams
Date: 09 Sep 1999 1:13 PM
As a parent, a public school teacher and a trainer for the National Coalition Building Institute, I believe that the root of violence is discrimination and prejudice. NCBI has a unique model which deals with an individuals "tapes or recordings" of prejudice from a non-judgmental point of view. "We were all born innocent." By what we have witnessed and experienced we take in our environment and unless we scrutinize these tapes and recordings, we are destined to perpetuate the hate. We do this by targeting others, as we have been targeted. With this 'cycle of oppression,' we hurt others as we have been hurt. These victims then either take it out on others (violence in its many forms), or take it out on themselves in the form of depresssion, self-hate, numbing behaviors (drugs/alcohol) or suicide. NCBI teaches ways to recognizes the tapes and recordings and methods of stopping the cycle of oppression.Please contact NBCI home page or me directly through my email address for further information and insights.Thank you.Barb Adams
Subject: The National Campaign Against Youth Violence
From: angela_candela
Date: 06 Jun 2000 1:18 PM
Paint YOUR mural and win a $1000 Scholarship!Tommy Hilfiger and SHINE are lookin' for some kick butt mural designs for the "Stop Violence - Start Art" project. http://www.shine365.com Stop the Violence and Spread the Word
