Recently, I was talking with a friend who said to me that as a minority, I should be ashamed of all the crime in New Bedford, stating her belief that the crime was race-related. I responded by stating that there is crime all over this country, and race is not the cause. After all, white Americans committed the worst crime known to society, enslaving Africans, and the repercussions still hit very deeply. Another friend of mine talked about having to hide in the house and avoid housing developments because of the crime. This will not make crime go away in New Bedford. The entire community getting involved will help eliminate crime.

I think young people need greater access to more low cost or no cost after school programs, and I think this is achievable in New Bedford. I could have easily been a troubled teen. The opportunities were there for me, and I would have had a police record 10 pages long. I was saved by school activities and involvement in sports. After school programs kept the students in my school and neighborhood too busy to get into trouble, and they didn’t cost me a dime.

There is plenty of evidence the city of New Bedford can be pulled out of the despair that it is in. For example, Tim Murray, the mayor of Worcester, built school-community partnerships to lower drop-out rates, launched school-based health initiatives and expanded after school programs to support working families, and all at a time of major cutbacks in state aid.

A major reasons for crime in New Bedford is the lack of activities for middle class and low income families. If there are no after school programs, and few high paying jobs, and the buses stop running at 6 p.m., kids are going to find other means to entertain themselves. Indeed, there are plenty of activities in this city; however, those activities are unaffordable for those living on limited incomes.

During my teenager years, the activities were funded by the city or organizations that donated their buildings because local politicians and the mayor asked for this. School counselors and teachers assisted with after school programs. If one program had to be closed, the funding went to the programs that were more popular.

Growing up in extreme poverty was and is very stressful; however, it was the activities that kept my mind off the streets and troublesome adventures. Some of those activities included going to a gym that set aside hours for students to play basketball, the weight room for those who didn’t like basketball, an arcade and game room, bowling alley, and a mini-golf course funded by the city.

I also took part in board game nights when high school teachers taught us chess, which led to the formation of a chess club. There were movie nights, chaperoned dances that had no liquor, and arts and crafts. Some teachers took it upon themselves to create clubs including one where we learned sign language and a drama club where students learned to express their anger through acting. One of my former teachers gave his time to create an after school program to teach students how to write letters and construct a resume. This helped me as a 17-year-old back in 1995 to get a job at Bank of Boston that lasted 21/2 years.

There is enough wealth and intelligence for the city to have these activities for youth. Indeed, there is a Boys and Girls Club; however, there needs to be more affordable activities, and perhaps even a bus or carpool system to and from activities. Transportation is very poor, especially with the buses stop early and most low-income families do not having a car or money to pay for gas.

I am sure that if Mayor Scott Lang, Sen. Mark Montigny, Rep. Antonio Cabral, Rep. Bob Koczera, Rep. John Quinn, Rep. Stephen Canessa and Rep. Bill Straus met with local teachers, school officials or college officials, they would find people willing to donate time to help the city. I know I would donate my time if I was approached with this idea. We need more positive role models from some of the same ethnic and racial backgrounds as youth for teens to look up to.

What the wealthy have to understand about the poor is that when people are raised in a less advantaged upbringing, they create activities for themselves that don’t cost money, even if this includes crime. In turn, whomever they victimize will turn around and victimize the family members of the individual who victimized them; it becomes a vicious cycle.

I implore those who live in New Bedford to continue to put pressure on our city’s representatives to help make the changes that they are responsible for.

Originally published in The Standard-Times newspaper’s website, SouthCoastToday.com – Date of Publication: June 09, 2006 on Page A15

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