Teenager Looters Demonstrate the Power of Coming Together.

Many Americans are living in fear as violence on our streets continues to go unchecked. Stores are looted, and vandalism increases, with many stores going out of business. City leaders put limitations on police, and prosecutors fail to prosecute criminals.

Teenagers discovered what adults failed to learn: they have unstoppable power to create fear and make people feel helpless as they band together to loot stores and destroy property. A gang of young people can ruin small companies. 

On the flip side, parents and grandparents can learn from teen looters that a group of 10 or 20 neighbors and friends has the power to build trust, reduce fear, and help reduce mental health problems for youth. Working together, we can stop the social isolation that can destroy communities.

YOUTH ARE CRYING OUT FOR HELP! Many young people don’t value themselves. They are trying to tell us we are in pain, we don’t feel heard, and we don’t care about ourselves or others. They have lost the sense of safety that communities can provide. Have we, as parents and neighbors, failed our children?

American gangs cost $655 billion a year! (youth.com) We need a national movement to create safe cities through citizen involvement!

Neighbors must take back their power and work together to create support for youth. When people help each other, they can stop vandalism, burglaries, drug dealers, and many other problems. However, citizens must speak up and work with the police because prevention officers are the first to go when there are cutbacks.

Lacking police, neighbors can come together to plan a social gathering, a clean-up day, a block party, or plant a neighborhood garden. By creating a safer neighborhood, neighbors can build trust and reduce social isolation, fear, and mental health issues. 

I have been a crime and violence prevention specialist for 40 years, and here are just two stories that illustrate why involved neighbors are critical for child safety.

At a Neighborhood Watch meeting, the discussion turned from home security to 7 and 9-year-old boys vandalizing property, bashing mailboxes, and stealing out of garages. One man said, “I told that mother to get her kids under control,” and she slammed the door in my face. Another neighbor said she had called the police. The officer talked to the mother and scolded the boys, but nothing changed. The group agreed the boys were headed down a self-destructive path if nothing changed. They appointed two tactful neighbors to reach out and let the mother know they were not there to blame but to help. At first, the mother was defensive! However, when the neighbors said they would help, she burst into tears and explained the boys were angry because their father had recently been incarcerated. Neighbors reached out and took the boys on their family outings and included them in activities. Ten years later, I saw the mother again and asked about the boys. She said, “I couldn’t have done it alone. My neighbors made a huge difference in our lives, and now the oldest is in college, and the younger one is doing well in high school.” 

I met AJ at a community meeting. He was a mentor to 24 kids on his block. He noticed single moms and kids needing guidance. He started “Christmas on the Street” with his neighbors. Every child got a small gift from Santa, and happy neighbors brought food to share. He is a positive role model for all the children. Many neighborhood kids have returned to thank AJ Jelani for keeping them off the streets and out of gangs. 

Most of us can’t do what AJ did, but we can get to know the kids on the block and their parents. The American people excel at helping each other if encouraged and supported. In some areas, “Neighborhood Safety Experts” who look like and speak the language of the community can be trained and hired to bring neighbors together. The challenge for all of us is to know our neighbors. Just like a gang of teens, adults can be more powerful by banding together to create a safety net around children so they can learn to be non-violent and respectful of each other.  Imagine what would happen if 113,000 American churches promoted “Love thy Neighbor.” We must hear our children’s cries for help, speak up, and encourage neighborhood involvement. We can keep our children safe; however, it will be up to you to decide!