Headline: IT
DOES TAKE A VILLAGE: TROUBLED CITY YOUTHS SHOULD TROUBLE US ALL
Reporter: By Greg Freeman
Publication: ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Thu., Oct. 10, 2002
Section: METRO, Page: D1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT
Cortez, 13, has
been arrested for the sale of crack cocaine.
It's
not his first offense. In fact, since March of last year Cortez has had an arrest
for another crack sale, two arrests for car theft, another arrest for possession
of a controlled substance, four arrests for tampering with a motor vehicle,
two arrests for violating probation.
Cortez isn't his real name. But his record is real. And his story
is like those of so many other young people who often get in trouble in this
city, especially late at night and early in the morning.
Cortez
hasn't had contact with his father for several years. His mother, who never
married his father, has an extensive record for prostitution, possession of
controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. The young man lives with his grandmother,
who can't understand why he hangs out with the wrong kinds of kids. She thinks
he's angry about his mother's lifestyle and hurt that his father doesn't want
to be involved in his life.
I sometimes hear
from the people who live near kids like Cortez. They write telling me how they're
afraid to walk out of their doors, how they hear gunfire every night. They're
afraid of the youngsters, but they're also afraid of the police, afraid of what
might happen to them if anyone found out they called the cops. They are prisoners
in their own homes.
These
aren't the folks who make sure their faces are in the cameras when there's a
shooting. These folks make sure they're far from the cameras, lest someone believe
that they had anything to do with the arrests.
Some St. Louisans
look at these youngsters, shrug and say that they're not our problem because
they don't live near them.
But truth be told, they are a problem for all of us. With a history
like Cortez's, for instance, there's no question that -- unless something changes
drastically in his life -- by the time he's legal age, he'll be heading to jail.
And guess who's paying for that? All of us.
Not
to mention what Cortez might do before he lands in jail. How many cars will
be stolen? How many people will be hurt by those who buy crack cocaine from
Cortez? How many people will be harmed or killed?
We live in a society
today where many families are dysfunctional. Part of that, surely, is the result
of babies having babies. Many of those babies we talked about 15 and 20 years
ago are teenagers and adults now. From parents who had no idea how to raise
children because they were still children themselves comes a generation of children
who have basically raised themselves.
Many
parents can't provide what some call "home training" because they
don't know what it is. We want them to be responsible when they don't even know
what responsibility is.
Is it possible
to stop the cycle that began with babies having babies?
Perhaps the only way is through education. School systems are sometimes
afraid to discuss sex at all in the classroom. But if kids get no information
at home -- and in some homes, kids are fortunate if they even get food on the
table daily -- school is the next best place to turn. Kids need to know about
sex, about pregnancy, about the implications and difficulties of becoming a
parent at 12, 13 or 14.
But it goes much
further than that. What do we do about the children who are already out there,
who have had no guidance for so many years? Giving up on a kid is always a mistake.
There's a need for more programs for young people to keep them
out of trouble: programs like those run by Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club,
the Gateway Classic Foundation and Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club. There's
a need for more recreation centers for youngsters.
And they need to get educations so that they don't follow the same
path as many of their parents.
If we're not willing to make the kinds of investments, not just of money but of time, we shouldn't be surprised to see more problems down the line, and more of these youngsters in the hands of the police. Get ready to see many more Cortezes.
COPYRIGHT © 2002, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Investing In Youths Could Save Us All A Lot Of Trouble 11/19/2002
Daniel Schesch - Webweaver