Pittsfield Community Connection Introduces Team Fighting Youth Violence
 Outreach workers Rob Jefferson, Michael Williams, and Michael Summers are introduced by Coordinator Adam Hinds at a meet and greet event at Barrington Stage on Thursday. |
But the Pittsfield Community Connection says low-income doesn't cause crime. It is the issues low-income families face that leads to crime.
Low-income neighborhoods tend to be more transient so families are less likely to trust their neighbors, less likely to step in if a child is acting out, and less likely to organize against bad things happening in the area.
Children from low-income families typically hear 30 million fewer words during their formative years, which contributes to poor performance in schools, according to Community Connection Coordinator Adam Hinds.
"If you are coming from a low-income household, by the time you go to school you have heard 30 million fewer words spoken to you than your classmates coming from a higher-income household," Hinds said at a meet-and-greet event on Thursday to introduce the team to the community.
"You can just think through the implications of that. It means you are probably going to have more trouble reading, learning, and understanding. Your self confidence is probably going to be shot. And then it just keeps going and if by third grade, you are not at grade level proficiency, you have a 75 percent chance of being incarcerated at some point in your life. That's pretty daunting."
In Pittsfield, 59 percent of students are living in low-income households and their shortage of the social ties children need. Without that community support, those children are falling behind and turning to crime — and the maps and crime data show that.
"Equal opportunity in American isn't alive and well. There are some scary stats. That means there are a lot of kids with the odds stacked against them," Hinds said. "That inspires us to do something about it locally."
The city reeled in a Charles E. Shannon Grant, a state program targeting youth and gang violence, for the last three years and has been building a coalition of community members to provide support to keep children from turning to crime and violence. That starts by finding those children who are vulnerable to going in a negative direction.
"I have a very checkered past and about a year ago, I met Adam and he took a chance on me," Michael Williams said. "It is my dream to try to help kids not go through the things I went through. I spent about a third of my life incarcerated and I try to lead kids to better places. There is no reason this day and age for this much crime and violence."
Williams is somebody that vulnerable population can relate to. Williams is one of three outreach workers in the program that has 30 children and their families in their sights. Their focus is not only to find and get the families into the program but also make sure they are following through with the plans.
Outreach worker Rob Jefferson heard about the program last year and wanted to do the same thing Williams is doing.
"Sitting in prison, I said to kids 'you don't want to go through what I've been through.' But instead of me just talking about it, I'd rather show them. I'll show any kid that living that dream is just that but it is a sick nightmare. This is reality," Jefferson said.
The two are joined by Michael Summers, who came to Pittsfield from Westchester, N.Y., who has a similar story.
"I've actually become a country boy. I kind of like it here. This is a beautiful place to be and I think it could be one of the most sought-out places in America. The kids are our future and we can make a great community safe and prosperous," Summers said.
After getting families enrolled, social worker John Schnauber is tasked with crafting a support plan that includes finding them jobs and connecting them with services.
 Social worker John Schnauber crafts a plan for each family to help keep them on the right path. |
"It can be jobs. It can be referrals for mental health services or social services. It could be working with DCF and making sure their case is being handled correctly."
Schnauber said it is more than just keeping children on the right track. But it is helping families. The program reaches the age group of 14 to 24, so some of those in program are parents themselves.
"This jobs is a lot bigger than what you see it as. The reach is very broad," Schnauber said.
Connecting the families with the services is only one aspect of a community, in the eyes of the Pittsfield Community Connection. The other part is giving the families somebody to talk to and relate to. That's where the mentoring programs come in.
Scott Murray and Nakeida Bethel-Smith are coordinating the mentoring program. They are matching up community members with each child in the program on a one-on-one bases. They are also running a mentoring program for mothers.
"The mentoring program will involve an hour and a half a week. The mentors will meet with their mentee for an hour and a half a week and we will have a group meeting with the mentors once a month," Murray said.
They are currently looking for additional mentors to match up with families, increasing the community network of the household.
"It takes a village and we need everybody here," Bethel-Smith said.
Tags: crime prevention, mentoring, shannon grant, social services, social work, teen violence,
