FIND WAY TO REVERSE THE CYCLE

It was the photo of three young boys that got to me, more than the
statistics, charts and stories of lost lives.

They were three boys on their way to Le'Devin Pearson's funeral, and they
wore matching memorial T-shirts that said "Real Soldiers Don't Die," and
then "Dude Rise 04-17-81. Dude Set 07-26-03."

The photo was part of The Times-Picayune's seven-part series "Cycle of
Death," which ran last week. I wondered, as I read the stories each day,
how we can tolerate so many early deaths, so many wasted lives.

So, 75 percent of the 275 homicides in New Orleans last year were
drug-related. Does that mean we shouldn't care about them?

Shouldn't we be asking, "How can we give the boys in the photo a better
future than the one Le'Devin Pearson had?"

Better Ways

We talk about putting more police on the streets and getting witnesses to
step forward and risk their lives to make ours safer. But until young
people find a better way to live, how is anything going to change?

I've seen better ways in New Orleans, but there need to be so many more --
like the six-month Youthbuild program that teaches young men and women
construction skills and helps them study for the GED exam.

"We take kids who didn't have any hope and give them confidence in
themselves," said Dipo Mosadomi, director of the Mirabeau family Learning
Center.

And Cafe Reconcile, where young men and women learn the restaurant business
while they rebuild their lives.

"The kids feel loved and cared for here," director Craig Cucchia said.

At Carver High School, band director Wilbert Rawlins took some of his
neediest students and turned them into a traditional jazz band that gets
jobs playing music.

"They're kids who need money for underwear and toothpaste," he said. "I
tell them they have the biggest moneymaking tools right in their hands."

No Fighting

Every time I visit Bishop Perry Middle School, I wish there could be middle
schools like it all over New Orleans. It's all about saving young lives.

The highly structured school was founded 10 years ago, under the
sponsorship of the Society of St. Edmund, to provide a quality education
for fifth-through eighth-grade boys.

Most of the 57 students are from single-parent homes, and all of them are
poor. They go on to some of the city's best high schools and often on to
college.

"Our mission and our ministry is to put these boys into a situation where
they can succeed, so they'll be productive members of society," said the
Rev. David Cray, president.

When I asked the students what they liked best about their school, they
were happy to tell me: small classes, free tuition, basketball, high school
scholarships, family nights, Saturday tutoring, summer camp.

But I was most struck by the answer of a fifth-grader: "They don't have
fights here," he said.