Pubdate: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA) http://www.nola.com/archives/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/10770027123740.xml Copyright: 2004 The Times-Picayune Contact: http://www.nola.com/t-p/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848 Author: Sheila Stroup FIND WAY TO REVERSE THE CYCLE It was the photo of three young boys that got to me, more than the statistics, charts and stories of lost lives. They were three boys on their way to Le'Devin Pearson's funeral, and they wore matching memorial T-shirts that said "Real Soldiers Don't Die," and then "Dude Rise 04-17-81. Dude Set 07-26-03." The photo was part of The Times-Picayune's seven-part series "Cycle of Death," which ran last week. I wondered, as I read the stories each day, how we can tolerate so many early deaths, so many wasted lives. So, 75 percent of the 275 homicides in New Orleans last year were drug-related. Does that mean we shouldn't care about them? Shouldn't we be asking, "How can we give the boys in the photo a better future than the one Le'Devin Pearson had?" Better Ways We talk about putting more police on the streets and getting witnesses to step forward and risk their lives to make ours safer. But until young people find a better way to live, how is anything going to change? I've seen better ways in New Orleans, but there need to be so many more -- like the six-month Youthbuild program that teaches young men and women construction skills and helps them study for the GED exam. "We take kids who didn't have any hope and give them confidence in themselves," said Dipo Mosadomi, director of the Mirabeau family Learning Center. And Cafe Reconcile, where young men and women learn the restaurant business while they rebuild their lives. "The kids feel loved and cared for here," director Craig Cucchia said. At Carver High School, band director Wilbert Rawlins took some of his neediest students and turned them into a traditional jazz band that gets jobs playing music. "They're kids who need money for underwear and toothpaste," he said. "I tell them they have the biggest moneymaking tools right in their hands." No Fighting Every time I visit Bishop Perry Middle School, I wish there could be middle schools like it all over New Orleans. It's all about saving young lives. The highly structured school was founded 10 years ago, under the sponsorship of the Society of St. Edmund, to provide a quality education for fifth-through eighth-grade boys. Most of the 57 students are from single-parent homes, and all of them are poor. They go on to some of the city's best high schools and often on to college. "Our mission and our ministry is to put these boys into a situation where they can succeed, so they'll be productive members of society," said the Rev. David Cray, president. When I asked the students what they liked best about their school, they were happy to tell me: small classes, free tuition, basketball, high school scholarships, family nights, Saturday tutoring, summer camp. But I was most struck by the answer of a fifth-grader: "They don't have fights here," he said.