VIOLENT CRIME: KIDS SPEAK OUT

An 11-year-old boy delivered a plea no child should ever have to
utter.

"Please stop the madness. I saw stuff I never saw in my life. Guns,
crack, weed. [I'm] not trying to tell on anyone but please help my
neighborhood."

He and the other 22 students who attended a forum spurred by
Jacksonville's escalating murder rate asked that their names and
schools not be revealed.

They, not forum organizers with the Otis Smith Kids Foundation,
decided television cameras could not show any child's face or tennis
shoes because neighborhood drug dealers would be able to identify them.

Children should not have these questions on their minds.

Why do they see drug dealers selling openly on street
corners?

Why do they hear gun shots at 3 a.m.?

Why are some pizza delivery businesses afraid to send drivers to their
neighborhood?

How could they give information about a crime without the fear of
being shot or killed?

Panelists, including representatives of the Jacksonville Sheriff's
Office and the Mayor's Office, spent more than an hour answering the
stream of tough questions.

They reminded kids to stay in school and set goals for the
future.

But more than answers or encouragement, the forum was a chance for
kids to talk to community and law enforcement leaders about what's
happening in their neighborhoods.

For many kids exposed to violent crime, survival has long outweighed
preparing for the next math test.

The decision to share information often means tattling on a family
member or putting oneself and others in danger of retaliation.

Living in this state of anxiety and fear will have one or two
outcomes, said Linda Chafin, a licensed social worker and clinical
director for the Child Guidance Center.

Children will either start acting out in frustration and anger or
withdraw from school and social situations.

"We're talking about a place where a child was killed in her bedroom,"
Chafin said, referring to the May murder of 13-year-old Shenice Tian
Holmes.

"Now home isn't even safe."

While the Sheriff's Office and other government officials work on
decreasing the murder rate and crime in general, more forums should be
organized for children.

Even more importantly, the entire community must take the "one child
at a time" approach. Mentors, classroom sponsors and homework zone
helpers are needed in the neighborhoods most affected.

Organizations such as the Police Athletic League and the Boys and
Girls Clubs need more support.

The U.S. census in its American Community Survey for 2004 estimated
that 34,763 youth aged 14 years and younger live in the urban core and
Northwest Jacksonville.

These children need to know that in spite of the violence they
witness, hope is a powerful emotion.

With it, they can look toward a future that includes higher education,
successful relationships and a rightful place in society.

Children deserve a voice and a place in discussions of crime. As
children go, so goes the city's future.