2008 Child Watch Summary

Summary of the 2008 Child Watch Tour "Positive Alternatives to Youth Gangs and Crime"

Headlines of recent gang-related violence in Asheville and Buncombe County have served as a wake-up call to many in our community. Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County and the Junior League of Asheville sponsored the 12th annual tour entitled “Positive Alternatives to Youth Gangs and Crime.” As one of the 50 participants in the May 2nd Child Watch Tour, I gained a better understanding of the factors at work behind the high-profile headlines.

The tour began with Captain Tim Splain (APD) describing recent gang-related activity and crime. After showing our group images of local gang graffiti and gang members’ myspace pages glamorizing money and guns, Capt. Splain stated that law enforcement cannot solve the problem alone. He recommended job training, education, and programs as an antidote to gangs. Capt. Splain noted that youth often affiliate with gangs for reasons of protection, belonging, self-esteem, money, and power. Once involved, it may be hard – and dangerous – to leave.

Next, we visited Asheville Middle School and divided up into three groups to hear from a panel of middle and high school students. They shared their perception of gangs and some of the challenges they face in their neighborhoods and schools. While the panel of four Asheville High Students that spoke to my group did not believe that gangs were a problem at Asheville High School, they did say that meaningful summer jobs and opportunities to explore the world beyond Asheville were lacking for many young people, and would help to give purpose and direction to their lives.

We also heard from youth at Caring For Children’s Crossroads program where long-term suspended and court-referred youth receive academic instruction in a therapeutic setting that addresses their emotional and behavioral challenges. One young woman noted her increased self-esteem and ability to solve conflicts with increased maturity as benefits of her time there. The tour wrapped up with an overview of the youth programs at the W.C. Reid Center.

After the tour, I am more keenly aware that we must embrace our collective responsibility for our future generations’ well-being. The youth highlighted by the tour are isolated at the margins of our society and we have a choice to make: build the prison beds or caskets that they will likely occupy prematurely or invest our time, money, and energy towards intervention and prevention. I believe that the logical, and compellingly moral, choice is the latter.

While both common sense and research show that spending money on prevention/intervention services will save money in the long term – we often lack the political will to adequately invest up front. An example from the tour: our local Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) allocates about $500,000 each year on prevention/intervention services for at-risk and adjudicated youth. The local programs funded through JCPC served over 500 youth last school year and made a real difference in their lives. But JCPC funding has remained flat (in real dollars) for the past decade and if the NC General Assembly doesn’t act swiftly these funds will disappear on July 1 and youth in our community will lose services. This not only jeopardizes services, but also our public safety and our youths’ future.

Join with me in asking your state legislators to ensure that funding is restored (and increased) for our local JCPC. In addition to helping to secure vital public funding, think about other ways you might personally become involved in the lives of our youth. Your time, spent with young people on the margins of our society, is a critical investment in the public welfare. Together, if we have the public and individual will, we can steer youth away from gangs and crime and towards a future of opportunity and promise.

Bill Christy, Board Chair
Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County