COMMUNITY PEACEMAKERS PEACEMAKERSsce dictum fringilla
Making a Positive Impact
by Lisa Ramsey
St. Sabina Community PeaceMakers have been active in Auburn Gresham's 611 and 612 beats (The Peace Circle) for the past 2 years. They continue to recruit young men for the Peace League and have started going into Middle Schools to talk with youth. There have been positive results for the community as well as in their own lives. Brandon Jackson, Curtis Toler, Charles (Juan) Scott, & Pat Vance first started working with Father Pfleger in 2012 to help form a Peace League for the brothers from different areas in the neighborhood. These PeaceMakers agreed to bring the different organizations of brothers, who did not come into each others areas or over the years have been in violent conflict, together to play basketball in a highly publicized tournament at The ARK of St Sabina with professional NBA players.
What makes these 4 men successful in quelling violent behavior in their "Peace Circle"? They each have been where these young men are today. They have been involved in illegal activities and each have been arrested, spent time in county jail or in prison. They have street credibility. St. Sabina's outreach organizations have embraced these 4 men and have worked in tandem with them as they bring young men and women to the Peace League. The PeaceMakers are conduits to getting access to internships, jobs, and getting into school. When these men walk down the streets in the Peace Circle, they represent change and making a positive impact in the community. They represent a different lifestyle - they don't have to be "about that life" any longer.
Over the past 2 years since the fist Peace Tournament at St. Sabina, the incidences of homicides in the Peace Circle continues to decline. In 2012, there were 10 homicides; in 2013, there were 6 homicides; and so far in 2014, there have only been 4 homicides in beats 611 and 612. Auburn Gresham shootings have declined since last year.