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.