Dave,
I assume you mean this follow up. (see below)
Peace, JWK
Ken, you raise a fair point with regard the lack of love, caring, guidance, etc
for many young people in the community. I think that anyone that does an honest
assessment of the situation would agree with you. The real challenge is - What
do you do? I have heard so many people say to me over the years, "It starts
with the family." They are right, it does, but what do you do with a few
hundred kids and young adults who have no concept of what a loving, caring,
disciplined household looks like? It's hard to "start with the family" when you
have no real concept of what one is. And that must be our starting point, to
find effective, proven ways of creating family structures when none exist. One
way to possibly address it, would be to take the resources that we use to lock
a young kid up in NJ ($50-100K a year) and to put those resources into group
homes with 1-on-1 staffing/mentoring by seasoned social workers (creating an
artificial parent so to speak). Such efforts would have to be done for the
long-term as it takes at least five years of this kind of work to break cycles
and even then, the road is difficult. But siphoning money from the prison
industrial complex and putting it towards real societal rehabilitation efforts
may be a greater challenge than rebuilding the family structures. Peace, Jim
Keady
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "oakdorf" <oakdorf@...> wrote:
>
> Jim for those that don't bother going out to the APP on clicking on the
> comments in the APP, maybe you should post your follow-up on here.
>
> --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "jwkeady" <jim@> wrote:
> >
> > Below is an article about the tragic shooting of an 11-year-old girl last
> > night in AP. Thank God she is alive, although in critical condition. As a
> > relatively new father, things like this have taken on a much more
> > guttural-level meaning for me. I cannot imagine how this family is
> > feeling.
> >
> > I know that many ask, what can be done? How do you stop this violence?
> >
> > Creating systemic, city-wide plans to address the underlying causes of the
> > violence must be a concentrated, ongoing effort of the governing body. It
> > has be something that is addressed week in and week out and not solely in
> > response to shots being fired in the neighborhood. In my analysis, the
> > four key areas that need to be addressed are:
> >
> > 1. A lack of family structure for many young people in the community.
> >
> > 2. A lack of good-paying blue-color jobs for poorly educated of
> > under-educated people in the community.
> >
> > 3. A lack of safe, clean, affordable housing for those living at, just
> > above or just below the poverty line.
> >
> > 4. A lack of adequate recreation opportunities (although we have made
> > significant strides here) in the community.
> >
> > These four areas must take on immediate and sustained urgency. Even when
> > things seem calm (i.e. no shootings) they must be kept front and center and
> > the entire weight of the City's resources (along with county, state and
> > federal resources) must be brought to bear in addressing these things. A
> > very practical way of doing this is to place each of these four items on
> > the City Council agenda (along with clear goals and objectives attached to
> > them) at every City Council meeting for at least the next 10 years. It has
> > taken more than 30 years for AP to decline in these four areas, it will
> > take at least a decade of focused effort to turn things around.
> >
> > This is not glamorous work, nor is it easy, but the payoff is revitalizing
> > a city and its citizens and creating a safe, wonderful place for everyone
> > to live, work and play.
> >
> > If anyone has any additional information about the young girl and her
> > family and if they need anything, please post it. I am sure that people on
> > this list will respond.
> >
> > Peace, Jim Keady
> >
> > ASBURY PARK An 11-year-old girl who was shot in the face by a bullet
> > meant for someone else Sunday night remained in critical but stable
> > condition Monday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, authorities
> > said.
> >
> > Asbury Park Police Capt. Anthony Salerno said the girl, whose name is being
> > withheld, was cleaning her room when multiple shots were fired into her
> > family home in the 1000 block of Monroe Ave.
> >
> > Salerno said the assault was drug-related, not gang-related, and that there
> > was a specific target in the house. Authorities are following up on leads
> > in the case.
> >
> > The girl was alert and speaking after going to the hospital, Salerno said.
> >
> > "When is it going to stop and when are people going to realize that by this
> > type of drug activiy, you're not just putting yourself in harm's way, but
> > putting your wife, your girlfriend, and children in danger," said Asbury
> > Park Deputy Mayor John Loffredo.
> >
> > First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni Monday said
> > authorities are continuing to investigate. He said that one person, Kyson
> > Kirkpatrick of 1060 Monroe Ave., was arrested and charged with obstruction
> > of justice. Gramiccioni wouldn't reveal further details on that arrest.
> > Kirkpatrick was released after posting $50,000 in bail.
> >
> > "This is a national epidemic," said City Manager Terence Reidy of the
> > shooting. "We're experiencing our piece of it here in Asbury Park, and the
> > solution to this is not finger-pointing. No one has found a solution to
> > this yet."
> >
> > "However, I still believe we are committed to being a safe community," he
> > said. "And I still believe that we're both small enough and big enough in
> > commitment if the community comes together, if everyone comes together,
> > that we can better address this and get our kids a better education and
> > work on more effective job-training programs."
> >
> > The Sunday shooting conjured up memories of the death of 4-year-old Evonia
> > Kettles on July 10, 1995, when she was sitting at her grandmother's living
> > room window at Boston Way Village in Asbury Park. While watching children
> > play outside, a bullet passed through an opening in the window, through her
> > body, and into the apartment wall, killing her. A Freehold man was
> > convicted of aggravated manslaughter in the child's death.
> >
> > The city has experienced a spate of shootings in recent months, and it
> > comes as state, county and local law enforcement authorities are involved
> > in a new community development group to come up with solutions.
> >
> > Anyone with information concerning the Sunday night shooting is asked to
> > call Detective Jeff Wilbert of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, at
> > 1-800-533-7443, or the Asbury Park Police Department at 732-774-1300.
> >
>
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