Pacing the Porch
A Response to Disconnected Youth in Durham’s Urban Core
James Stuit
Gang Reduction Manager, City/County of Durham
February 19, 2012
Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.”
Outline.
- Story – “what the judge said”
- Our Community and its Challenges
- Gang Reduction Strategy
- Story – “a tale of 2 Shawns”
- The five six safety nets
- Back to the porch
And the decision is . . .
__ found on Mangum St.
Durham, North Carolina
Population = 228,350
Home of . . .
- Research Triangle Park
- NC Central
- Duke University
- Durham Bulls
~ 125 churches
Durham Youth
39,643 youth age 6-17 currently living in Durham 
The harvest is plentiful . . .
∴
Percentage Living Below Poverty Level
Households Living Below Poverty Level in Durham, NC 2010
A higher than normal percentage of Durham youth are left unattended for 3 or more hours after school.
Approximately 450 students drop out of school each year in Durham. 150/year return to school and attain a GED. Therefore the number of adults with no diploma or GED grows by 300 a year in Durham.
Students with limited English proficiency have a graduation rate of only 33% in Durham (changing demographic).
Juvenile Arrests 2008-2010 In Durham n = 2673
Juvenile Arrests in Durham 2008 - 2011
Juvenile Arrests in Durham 2011
Juvenile Weapons Arrests in Durham 2011 (n=46)
8.1% of Total Juvenile arrests (n=570)
Many Durham youth experience predictive factors for entering the juvenile justice system and/or gang involvement
- Reside in an area with high crime concentration
- Disconnection from school
- Poor relationships with family
Court Involved Youth Who Claim Gang Membership or Association
Gang Reduction Strategy Steering Committee Members
- Tom Bonfield
- Mike Ruffin
- Bill Bell
- Michael Page
- Jose Lopez
- Mike Andrews
- Dallas Parks
- Tracey Cline
- Newman Aguiar
- Ripley Rand
- Barker French
- Phail Wynn
- Eric Becoats
- Casey Steinbacher
- Minnie Forte-Brown
- Pilar Rocha-Goldberg
- Judge Marcia Morey
- Kathy Shuart
- Kevin Rome
- Ann Oshel
1. Organizational Change and development
Policies and procedures that best address the gang/youth crime problem . . .
2. Community mobilization
Involvement of local citizens, community groups and agencies . . .
3. Social Intervention
Reaching out to gang-involved youth and their families . . .
Service duplication → Service coordination
4. Opportunities provision
Education, training and employment programs . . .
5. suppression
Social control procedures . . .
What kind of problems do gangs cause?
↓
What kind of problems cause gangs?
A Community Response is needed to address issues of disconnected youth in Durham
Our Faith Community Partners are an important part of this response
A Tale of 2 Shawns
Shawn #1 . . .
- Lives with mom and 4 younger sibs
- Dad is incarcerated
- Witnessed domestic violence
- Suspended from school for fighting
- Has been approached by guys on the block to hang out with them and smoke pot
Shawn #2 . . .
- Lives with parents and 1 sister
- Parents both work
- Has a nice car and a Wii system
- On the honor role at school
- Is looking for excitement and acceptance and has experimented with cocaine
A Series of Safety Nets
1. family
Family is constantly being redefined, but it remains . .
"a primary social group consisting of parents and their offspring, the principal function of which is provision for its members” (Mr. Webster) 
A Series of Safety Nets
2. neighbor/neighborhood
Q. Who is my neighbor?
A. See Luke 10:29-37
Neighborhood – Social Definition
"a community consisting of the sum of all of its parts” 
A Series of Safety Nets
3. faith community
We’ll send a team to Haiti . . .
But will we cross Angier Avenue to visit Shawn and his family?
A Series of Safety Nets
4. school
A Series of Safety Nets
5. social services
"an anonymous public, supporting anonymous machinery, supporting anonymous clients”
The Tragedy of American Compassion, Marvin Olasky (1992)
If all else fails, a Safety Net for society
Back to the front porch . . .
How can the Congregation at Duke “pace the porch”?
