Viewpoint: Only way to solve violence problem in South Bend community is to work together
I first started working for the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County in 2008. It was an election year, so we held fourth-grade presidential elections at Harrison Primary Center, where I was the unit director. Our club members created campaign platforms, spoke to their peers, made posters and, after campaigning,140 kids voted for their Boys & Girls Club president.
It has been 14 years, but I can tell you exactly where my 2008 club president and vice president are today. One is now married with a child and running her own Boys & Girls Club school site as a unit director, and the other is serving our country in the Air Force.
At Boys & Girls Club, we know the potential of our youth. And as someone who has also lost two former club members to gun violence in 2022 alone, we also know that ensuring a positive outcome for every child is a battle. We have not only lost former members in recent years, we have lost family members, current members and countless children in our community have been witness to violence and injustices.
As I write this, I’m proud to say that our organization is currently serving over 1,300 youth across 21 locations in St. Joseph County. But the reality is that we also have over 500 kids on our waitlist. And there are other amazing youth serving organizations in our community doing this critical work with waitlists of their own.
Youth need more than just a physical safe place to be out of school. They need caring, positive and responsible adults to encourage them, guide them, support them, and to hold them accountable. Not just in their primary school years, but through middle and high school when increased independence, peer pressure, and a current mental health crisis put our most vulnerable youth at risk for involvement with violence, substance use and other forms of self-harm and sabotage.
The only way we solve the ongoing issue with violence in our community is to work together. Every day, I see our collective ability to impact youth across our county. I see it in the two dozen former club kids who now work as club staff. I see it in the excited faces of kids when they build relationships with volunteers who consistently show up every week to read with them. I see it in the relieved face of the single mother, after telling her we were able to get her child into counseling, without having to wait months for a referral. I see it in the young men and women who are now graduates, young professionals, small business owners, parents and even those still struggling to find their place in this world, but know they can still reach out for support without judgment.
“It takes a village” is not just a saying, it is a call to action. If we can reach our young people in their formative years, and make positive and supportive connections, their chances for success increase exponentially. Many of the families we work with on a daily basis are doing their best to provide for their families with limited support and resources. But they need support.
We need more staff, more volunteers, more space and more resources to meet the needs of our community. Our school corporations need parent and community engagement. Our nonprofits need resources to provide services that can help keep families whole and healthy. Our youth need to know they matter, whether they are 5, 15 or 25.
In the words of John Shipp, “Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.” Our community needs you.
Lety Stanton-Verduzco is director of mission integration with the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: At Boys & Girls Club of St. Joe County, we know potential of youth.
