Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jul 2007
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2007 Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.heraldtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/398
Author: Christina E. Sanchez
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

YOUTHS HAVE OPTION AWAY FROM GANGS

YMCA Program At Pride Park Offers Alternatives For Those Living In At-Risk Area

MANATEE COUNTY -- Jerry Parrish scoured the Pride Park neighborhood 
last week to round up kids cruising and hanging out on the streets.

"Hey, you want to play flag football?" a bubbly Parrish asked loudly 
in his Southern accent to a child on a bike.

What started as a game with six boys quickly grew to 30. Parrish 
recruited any child he could find.

Youths with idle time, Parrish knows from experience, get into 
trouble or involved in gangs, a lifestyle Pride Park residents know too well.

Parrish, the at-risk youth director for the Manatee County YMCA, sees 
Pride Park's new playground as an avenue to offer youth activities 
that enable them to stay away from gang violence.

Four weeks ago, the YMCA started a summer program at Pride Park 
called Club Cairo, which will offer sports and games for teens. A 
character-building session also allows the youths to talk about 
problems or issues they have and how they can overcome them.

All youths are welcome, and there is no cost for the club.

After three teens were shot in a gang rivalry feud on Easter Sunday 
on Coquina Beach, community leaders have been trying to create and 
enhance existing summer and after-school programs.

The Latino Community Network of Manatee County and the newly formed 
Community Gang Prevention Task Force are compiling a list of 
activities available for youths.

Pride Park's Club Cairo is just one example of what can be done, said 
Sean Allison, CEO of the Manatee County YMCA.

"Our goal is to get as many positive activities in this park as 
possible and to fill it up with wholesome programs," Allison said. 
"The kids need this."

Thomas Welch, 17, admitted that without a program such as Club Cairo 
he might be up to his old ways of fighting with other teens.

Welch brought his brother and two friends to the flag football game. 
It was their second week there.

"This way, we don't have time to get into fights," he said. "And we 
get to have fun."

Raphael Yon, 16, said there is not a lot for teens to do in the 
county. He would probably be home eating or sleeping the summer away 
without Club Cairo.

"Getting into trouble gets old. You start maturing," Yon said. "But 
this helps keep me out of trouble."

Parrish hopes to be a mentor for youth such as Welch and Yon, like 
the YMCA mentor he had as a teen. He gives all the youths his cell 
phone number if they need to talk.

Parrish said he can relate to them. He was drinking and smoking at 
age 11 while growing up in Texas. His mother worked two jobs. He had 
no activities or adult supervision. His mentor's advice turned him around.

"I had a good heart, but I was drawn to bad stuff," Parrish said.

Parrish, now 40, is returning the guidance he was given. "I guess 
I've come full circle," he said.

Pride Park and other neighborhoods can have a new beginning and stop 
gangs, Parrish said.

Gang graffiti marked on a fence in Pride Park conveys the 
neighborhood's rocky history of crime, drugs and gangs.

The new playground, the anticipated construction of a YMCA center and 
the rebuilding of nearby Daughtrey Elementary School serve as beacons 
of hope for residents trying to wipe out the blight and drive out the 
crime from the area formerly known as "duplex city."

"We're trying to have an impact in the park," Parrish said. "As soon 
as we allow the gangs or whomever to come in here, the bad element takes over."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman