Melissa and fellow streetworker Tara were joined by #300Women representatives from Providence and local community members at the corner of Jefferson and West Avenues in Pawtucket, across the street from two convenience stores and almost across from the Oaklawn Community Center, to lock arms for peace and to take a stand against violence in the community. The area has become a hangout for kids.
“These are good kids, they aren’t bad kids,” said Melissa, “they just need guidance. They just need more tender loving care.”
As the small group gathered around, Pawtucket Police cruisers drove past slowly. They did not interfere.
Some people who live in the neighborhood joined in, calling the kids from across the street at the stores to join them in locking arms and calling for peace. All of the kids demurred. “I can’t lock arms with him,” said one boy, about 14 years old. He didn’t want to appear in any way to be less manly. Women offered to let the boy between them but he answered, “Nah.”
Pawtucket has been plagued by a string of shootings in this area. So far, no one has been killed. Mary Gray, a Pawtucket City Councillor, was on hand. This is her district, and she’s been working to get Mayor Grebien more involved. Part of the solution is the Midnight Basketball League.
Diana Garlington, of #300Women, explained that the League gets kids off the streets, but also gets them to a place where they can hear better messages.
“The Midnight League is not about guys playing basketball,” said Melissa, “It’s a way to capture everybody’s ear that we can do better.”
The league had a game scheduled for the park that evening, but due to rain it was being moved indoors.
People looking to help end the violence should contact the Institute, or contact Anchor Recovery. People are looking for jobs and job training opportunities. If you can’t offer jobs, money could help.
Meanwhile, the effort to save our kids from violence continues. “We need to come together and save them,” said Melissa DaRosa, “before we end up having a grieving family and have to bury somebody else.”
]]>YPI has sent an email to supporters, asking them to contact their legislators in the hope of having these funds restored.
We are asking our supporters to let the state know how valuable and important Youth Pride Inc.’s work with LGBTQQ youth is to our state and community. Let them know we are the only organization providing support and advocacy for LGBTQ youth in the state! Let them know that these youth need our organization!
“Please reach out to the Speaker of the House and Senate President immediately in support of YPI and the vital work that we do for LGBTQQ youth in Rhode Island TODAY. The Senate President can be contacted at: 401-222-6655 and the Speaker of the House can be reached at: 401-222-2466. Please reach out to your Representative as well.”
At yesterday’s House Budget briefing, I asked Speaker Nicholas Mattiello about the cuts to the program. He said that YPI serves a “very worthwhile purpose” but added, “Those services, needs, potentially are being serviced elsewhere.”
In the case of YPI, the Speaker said that he had heard the suggestion that, “guidance counselors in the school are in fact providing [these services]. Not specifically [for LGBTQ youth] but it’s something that is being addressed through other means.”
Given the range of services and programs YPI provides that specifically cater to the needs of LGBTQ youth in Rhode Island, it’s unlikely that guidance counselors are filling that need or have the time and ability to do so. That said, Mattiello, added towards the end of his statements, “We’ll take a look at [YPI] and we’ll see if it’s unique enough to fund.”
Representative Joseph Almeida entered the Budget Briefing late and asked about other worthwhile groups that have been denied funding, including the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) which has provided employment training and placement opportunities since 2010 and the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence which works to reduce homicides and support victims of violence.
“It’s like all the poor people got cut, cut, cut,” said Almeida, who said afterwards that he was speaking from his heart, “Can’t you take money from Crossroads and give to people who really need it teaching peace in the streets and teaching people how to get jobs? I mean Crossraods? What? What do they do?”
Crossroads RI received $300,000 in the budget.
]]>I talked to both students and a reporter who were caught in the pepper spray.
This afternoon the media was out in force outside Tolman, as were the police. Up the street could be seen the major crimes unit in their signature windbreakers. A paddy wagon was parked near the Gamm Theater. There was even a forensic crime van parked nearby, as well as over a dozen uniformed officers.
But when school got out at 2:30, there were no incidents of violence.
Instead, there was the calming presence of street workers from the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence. I watched as they reached out to students and listened to their concerns.
Make no mistake: many students at Tolman are justifiably angry and confused. The video is seen by many as confirmation that the police see students of color as nothing more than criminals to be controlled.
But I watched as Melissa DaRosa, an Institute street worker and others not only calm student’s concerns but also assured them that their voice would be heard at meetings with school officials, Mayor Don Grebien and the Pawtucket police. The Institute streetworkers were there to guide the students and help channel the anger into constructive organizing and community power.
I watched as the confident members of this wonderful organization spread peace instead of violence.
I wonder what Rhode Island would be like if the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence were adequately funded? How much is it worth to prevent violence and arrests before they happen? How much is it worth to actualize and empower future citizens of our state, rather than to criminalize and brutalize them?
My answer is not only would such outcomes be worth nearly any amount of money, but street workers and intervention are far cheaper than police officers and incarceration.
#choosepeace
]]>US Representative David Cicilline introduced the legislation that began the process of renaming the building in Sister Ann’s honor in February. In the present political climate, said Cicilline, even getting a bill like this passed presented difficulties. Representative James Langevin cosponsored the bill, and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed pursued the legislation in the Senate. Ultimately, President Barrack Obama signed H.R. 651 into law in May. Thus, the Sister Ann Keefe Post Office became the first US Post Office named for a nun.
Senators Whitehouse and Reed were not at the dedication ceremony, having been called back to Washington to vote on a transportation/infrastructure bill, but Cicilline and Langevin, along with other many elected officials, were eager to put in an appearance at the event, a tribute to Sister Ann’s influence.
The best parts of the dedication ceremony were the tributes from Sister Ann’s family and the community she served. Her biological sister, Mary Blanchet, read a letter to Sister Ann, recalling memories from their lives. Another sister, Kathy Keefe, read a poem from A.A. Milne.
Elijah Matthews read an award winning poem written by his sister, Victoria Matthews about Sister Ann. Elijah was introduced by his mother, Pamela Matthews. Victoria Matthews was at a sorority event out of town. Elijah’s reading of the poem earned a well deserved standing ovation.
The ¡City Arts! Bucket Drummers and the Saint Michael’s Community Choir provided the music.
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There were more than 350 people in support of the Rally Against Gun Violence at the State house Thursday afternoon, by far the largest gun control rally in Rhode island’s history. The event was organized by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV), made up of over 60 groups representing 100,000 Rhode Islanders.
This year the RICAGV is advocating for three pieces of common sense legislation that seek to make our state safer. The coalition wants to pass legislation to deny guns to domestic abusers, keep guns out of schools, and limit magazine capacity to ten bullets.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza was at the rally and in support of the bills. Noting the presence of Teny Gross, executive director of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, Elorza said, “I can’t think of a better slogan than the institute’s ‘Everybody, let’s choose peace.’” Elorza advocated for non-violence training in schools, and asked that people join him in committing “to being preventive rather than reactive to gun violence.”
The rally was emotional at times, with a gripping account by Carmen Cruz, founding member of SOAR, Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships. She came to Rhode Island in 1999 to escape an abusive relationship, but her ex-husband found her and shot her in front of her eight-year-old son and her granddaughter. “Domestic abuse and firearms are a terrible combination,” said Cruz.
There was also lighter entertainment, starting with music from the Extraordinary Rendition Band, then Sheryl Albright sang a rousing version of “If I Had a Hammer.”
Myra Latimer-Nichols took to the podium to talk about losing her son, Steven, to senseless gun violence four years ago. Two days short of his 23rd birthday, Latimer-Nichols’ son was outside a club and accidentally leaned on the wrong car. The car’s owner tracked him and his friends down later in the night, and shot them in a drive by. Steven died, leaving his daughter, Nevea, behind.
“The last time I saw him and his daughter together he was telling her about the importance of education,” said his mother, “She was robbed of a life with her father.”
Said Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré, “Every year we come here to ask for the tools to keep us safe. This is common sense legislation.”
Commenting on the need to limit the number of rounds in guns, Pare said, “If you need a banana clip, you should be hunting, not on the streets of Providence. We won’t give up until we’re there.”
Retired school teacher Wendy Bowen spoke next. Bowen was a teacher in Newtown, CT the day a gunman shot and killed six teachers and twenty elementary school children. When her school went into lock down, Bowen and her students, “huddled together in fear, with absolutely no idea what had happened.”
Students have a “right to learn in a safe environment, free of fear. Guns do not belong in school,” said Bowen, “Supporting gun sense laws would save so many lives.”
Episcopal Bishop Knisely led the crowd in prayer (but included a nice shout-out for random Humanists in the crowd) as Representative Doreen Costa skirted the edge of the crowd taking photos with her phone. Costa has an A+ voting record with the NRA, and is a keen opponent of most legislation that might even slightly inconvenience gun owners.
Sheryl Albright then led a collection of schoolchildren from six different schools in Central Falls in a rendition of “Give Kids a Chance” before the crowd was asked to move inside the State House for a direct appeal to the legislators.
In the main rotunda of the State House, Julia Wyman, legislative director of the RICAGV, made a valiant effort to be heard over the clanging of the bell that calls the legislators to session. She introduced Teny Gross who said that the law should clearly state that guns are not allowed in schools. “When my kids go to school,” said Gross, “I don’t want someone with a license to carry to be in charge of protecting my children.”
The last speaker was Central Falls Mayor James Diossa. Diossa is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The mayor introduced the Central Falls schoolchildren a final time, and they sang a moving song about Sandy Hook Elementary, a song that mentioned the names of all twenty children who died that day, a tragedy many in our state are trying to prevent from happening again.
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