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The "VGPP" Presents Virginia’s Gang Reduction Summit With Prevention and Intervention Workshops. Sept 10, 2005 8:30am – 4:00pm In Association with ... |
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Conference Co-Sponsors; Heart of Compassion Partnerships, Operation Breaking Through, Eden Family Counseling, Recovery for the City, St. Johns and New Hope COGIC, PCOM, Sanctuary of Hope, N/News Juvenile Det. Center, Tidewater Det. Home, Norfolk and Va. Beach Juv. Det. Centers Chaplains (God Squad) |
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You’re invited to participate in the following 3 Workshops I. Prevention Federal, State, Local Public Service teams, along with Faith-Based Agencies will discuss what is presently working, and what they envision as the ‘next step’. Best Practices 10 II. Intervention Faith-Based Experts from various Public Service teams will be joined by local Faith-Based service providers to discuss what has been presently accomplished, and what each of the visitors can do to reduce gang intervention in their own local area. III. Coalition Building & Networking National, State, and Local agencies will be discussing the benefits of participating in a corporate Regional project to reduce gang recruitment, and prevent youth from ever being at risk to Gang activities. Each visitor will learn how they can be involved in a bigger network of providers, as a partner.
Planetary Session Speakers from
Federal Agencies will share an overview of the current need for gang
reduction work, and potential future funding sources for that work. This
is especially important for the faith-based/community organizations as our
partnership with Federal teams in this area could lead to a reduction in
court and incarceration cost for State/City governments, plus reduce the
amount of time spent by probation officers, social service case workers,
and school counselors; which would lead to additional governmental
budgetary savings. The potential for private-public partnerships has never
been so great. Each registrant will be provided a packet of practical materials they can realistically apply ** If you are committed to coming please consider linking back early so that we can accommodate you comfortably. Early registration is $65 by August 18, and at the door it will be $90. Please call us at: 757- 572-1663 or e-mail bemery10@cox.net to register. Press Conference August 10th 10:00 A.M. Norfolk State University-School of Social Work Room B-126 - Brown Hall New international gangs have raised the bar of violence, and our local teams have sought to rise to the challenge and meet and match murder and mayhem in an attempt to compete for respect. The cries of Mothers; the increase in revenue of our Funeral Homes, the statistics of Crime increase per capita, are all, in an act of desperation, asking us to answer the "Call for Help". We, the People of Virginia were also crying out for help! For years, our very own mainstream media outlets have been focusing on this growing problem. With this “Realization”, should come forth a much needed brainstorming frenzy. The question begged to be asked of “How to Resolve and Bring Solutions to the Table regarding the Growing Violence that our Youth are manifesting in a brand new never before seen levels.”
We, the Leaders of
Virginia, responded by calling in every facet of expertise across board to
not only find solutions, but to come up with realistic ways of
implementing them throughout our state. Our Collaboration of Leaders
within the State of Virginia and Hampton Roads came together twice in two
years to address how to work together, at Norfolk State University. We
focused Our Efforts , Our Energies, and Our Resources in ensuring the
Decrease of Gangs within Our neighborhoods.
We sought to identify those with a passion and those who are capable and available to address the still existing gaps in service. We don’t have time to reinvent from the ground up, but instead, we quickly linked and locked arms as we came to fill in as part of the complete answer.Please join us with your city and state teams, as we share the reachable, doable Solutions to keep Our Youth Alive, Reduce Crime, Increase the Value of our Communities, Ensure the Continuance of a World Class Education System, Promote Healthy Lives, and Strengthen the Families of Virginia.What are the major challenges facing our area regarding the Prevention and Intervention approaches to gang recruitment? Who is presently addressing these and where are the potential resources? We want to provide a Model that can be reproduced nationally, and our task is to cross borders of culture and community separation that has kept us unable to link hands to move quickly. Together we can work more effectively to discover the base case scenario, and address the key issues as it relates to Prevention Programs in every neighborhood. Individually, there are limitations to what we can accomplish, and if we can identify our rolls and lay down our geographical boundaries, then we can merge to fit the need.There is a wide variety of panelist who will be representing successful Prevention and Intervention Programs, from this region. This will be well attended, and fun. We have invited Federal, State and City Gang experts, Police Chiefs, Mayors, Juvenile Detention Directors and a real grass roots turn-out is expected. We already have a Principal and 20 Members of her Staff coming from one High school, alone! Lets come together for the sake of the children.Federal Invited: First Lady (Laura Bush) Youth Project teams Confirmed: Robert Flores 0JJDP Administrator Invited: Phelan Wyrick, OJJDP Gang Programs Coordinator Invited: DOH A.C.F. Harry Wilson Associate Commissioner State Confirmed: Virginia, Ex. Dir. Gang Reduction, Robert Kipper Confirmed: Virginia Community Initiatives, DSS, Jane Brown Confirmed: New Port News Juvenile Detention Dir. Larry Robinson Confirmed: Tidewater Detention Home, Ernest Madison Confirmed: NSU School of Social Work: Professor Marvin Feit Confirmed: NSU Gang Reduction Programs, Vanessa Caldwell City: Confirmed: Norfolk Police Dept. Gang Squad Invited: Chesapeake City Mayor Dalton Edge Invited: Norfolk Housing and Redevelopment, Youth Dept. Community Leaders: Confirmed: Operation Breaking Through, Dir. Kevin Brown Confirmed: Heart of Compassion Partnerships, Pastor John Dooley Confirmed: St. Johns COGIC, Bishop Samuel Green, Confirmed: Gods X Gangsters Outreach Dir. Marvin Gumba Confirmed: Hope International-Urban Outreach Center-Bishop Frank Allen, Confirmed: Eden Family Counseling-Dr. Paul Van Valin Confirmed: DM Live-Dr. Paul Hardy, Atlantic Shores Church You can connect with the Conference Organizers by linking with: NSU Media Relations Director Sharon Jenkins: srhaggard@nsu.edu NSU School of Social Work - Professor Marvin Feit: mdfeit@nsu.edu Director of Gods X Gangsters - Rev. Bill Emery: bemery10@cox.net Or register on line at godsxgangsters.org or call 1 (757) 857-4172 History of our core Training team, GXG Inc. God’s X Gangsters (GXG) a 501c-3, working with At-Risk Youth in the Hampton Roads area of Southeast, VA. GXG is a Faith-Based Intervention, Community and Character Education Program that utilizes workforce development non-profit services and other innovative prevention strategies to under gird the framework of focused community resolve, at multiple service sites, to address the needs of youth At–Risk for gang recruitment and retention. In Virginia, when a youth is detained in juvenile hall or in jail, they are normally introduced into an organized gang arena. There they will meet a so-called “Original Gangster” (O.G), that is, one who is already incarcerated and the point person set to sift you in as part of an attempt to recruit you. They will “school you up” (educate you) in gang behavior, and will also introduce the detained or at-risk youth to criminal survival skills and to gang related cultural norms as part of a gang related recruitment effort. The O.G. provides a complete introduction of ground rules, signs, parameters and the flow of gang customs. Gregg Smith-Norfolk Intensive Probation Officer, shared at the 2000 Spring Gang Summit in Virginia Beach, about the need to utilize the expertise of recovered gang members to combat the growing problem of gang recruitment and related youth violence. Smith states, “Until lately, those that are most effective in reaching the “hard to reach” have been kept from participating in legitimate programs. The fear that they (recovered offenders) may contaminate the integrity of the process has hampered clinical parishioners from including the most effective tool in at-risk youth prevention to date; the fully recovered ex-offender.” God’s X Gangsters (GXG) is not so hampered. In 1999, an ex-offender named Bill Emery graduated from Internship at Beacon of Hope Ministries in Portsmouth and began utilizing his personal expertise in gang recovery by addressing the growing problems associated with violent gang related activities in his neighborhood. Theft, assault, rape, and even murder were knocking on the door of his neighborhood. Bill, knew how to approach the kids responsible for the terror in the community and began to meet and reason with them. Those original encounters led him to become a point source of support where angry youth could discuss their grievances, economic disparities, police brutality, school truancy, at risk behaviors, and acts of crime. At first, Rev. Emery worked out of his home, in the urban city, mentoring difficult youth one-on-one, and in small groups. By 2001, his original recruits helped create an edutainment testimony team that has since ministered to at-risk youth in seminars, Boys and Girls Clubs, School Assemblies, State Functions, Youth Detention Centers, youth groups, tent meetings, large outdoor park events, trailer part outreaches, block parties and housing project events. The audiences have been predominately African Americans, Latino Americans, and Asian American Youth. GXG has shared the story of their successful program on the radio and several television News Programs. GXG Court and School Advocacy Programs were launched in 1999 as well as the weekly small groups, One-on-One mentoring, prison educational programs, work preparation training, intervention and advocacy Programs. A transitional housing program was set in motion and the GXG office center moved to Great Bridge in Chesapeake, while the outreach remained in Fairmont Park. A permanent outreach facility on Chesapeake Ave. was opened in late 2002. In 2003/2004 GXG has linked out to geographically separate service ‘sites’ who have formally become partners in this adventure. These teams have committed to collaborate together to build the bases for a H/Roads youth alliance addressing at-risk-youth in each of their target areas. To date, these teams provide various services that are unique to each of their geographical areas. Together, we all share a focus on youth and single adults immersed in a violent dysfunctional criminal lifestyle. Whatever service someone calls, our corporate ministries services are available to them. We are now ready to move forth into the next level of Neighborhood Networking, to provide every mother hope, and every youth an alternative to the streets. We have linked to two large networks of service providers on the north and south side of H/Roads. We also link out to 13 cities teams. You are invited to participate and bring what you have to the table as part of the complete answer. What is your heart telling you today? If not now, when? If not this, what will we do, where will it start, and what will it look like? |
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