Detroit club helps kids kick gang habit

August 14, 1996
Web posted at: 4:35 a.m. EDT

From Reporter Ann Curran

DETROIT (CNN) -- Big cities such as Detroit have fought against gangs and younger criminals for years. However, the recent announcement by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno that the juvenile-crime rate slipped in 1995 may indicate that anti-crime measures are starting to work.

The Metro Detroit Boys and Girls Club is one measure Detroit has taken to help kids break the gang lifestyle and straighten out their lives. Julius Nicholson, 18, is one of the success stories.

Now, he's helping other teens. Carl Stewart, who also once ran with a bad crowd, is one of his proteges.

"I asked him why he did it, and he said because he seen me doing it. I felt bad, because I didn't know I was leading him," Nicholson said.

"I need somebody, 'cause I ain't got no brother or sisters. I live with my grandma, so I need somebody around to help me stay out of trouble," according to Stewart.

Both are active in a new Detroit support group for young African-American men. Nicholson says the Detroit Boys and Girls Club is helping him learn another way to live. Until now, the norm was violence. He once watched as a friend was shot seven times in a high school hallway.

"It's scary at the time that it happens, but then like a couple weeks later, sometimes you don't even think about it, you just forget it," he said.

Many children at the club say they use the facility to seek refuge from life on the streets.

"First, I was running up and down the streets with gangs, then my cousin told me about this club, the Boys and Girls Club, and my Mom finally let me come after I got in trouble one time," said 15-year-old Rueben Jackson.

Tyon Hawkins, 13, added, "Before I came here, I thought stealing from the stores was fun, and there was nothing else to do."

While there is some good news coming from the Club, the kids will be the first to tell you not all the problems are solved. While some youngsters are seeking refuge in the shelters, many trouble-makers are still on the streets.

"The older kids, if you try to help them and they don't want to do it, then they want to stay in trouble," Jennifer Rincones, 15, said.

Detroit Police Sgt. Charles Barbieri admits it's hard to find new ways to keep youthful violent offenders out of trouble. However, he says, preaching family values isn't enough.

"The families they come from, unfortunately, have no values. I've seen a lot of prostitutes out here, and they're addicted to crack cocaine and heroin; they all have three or four children," Barbieri said.

Young people like Nicholson aren't waiting for adult role models. He is now college-bound and committed to spending a lifetime helping kids get out of trouble.

Detroit club helps kids kick gang habit

Related stories:

Terms under which this service is provided to you.