• Who I Am.
• My View of St. Louis County
• Rights of the People
• Labor vs Business
• Economic Diversity
• Environmental Issues
• Welfare Reform
• Foster Care Reform
• Juvenile Reform
• Elderly Issues
• College Students in our area
• Emergency Services
• My volunteer work and advocacy

• Map of District 1

• Home page

Juvenile Reform

That's a question I asked myself and the answer I came up with is this. Some of it works, but in my opinion we need to work with the community on this issue. I think mentoring and apprenticeships play a very big role here. If we were to work with our businesses and our unions on this issue we could make a big difference in the lives of our children, and remember that's what they are is our children.

In a lot of cases we are working against the vicious circle that has been going on for along time, in some cases generations. However, if we show them that there is more out there available to them than gangbanging and drug dealing and with other choices you don't have to constantly have to look over your shoulder to see if the police are watching. However this also goes back to becoming more economically diverse. I'm not saying that everyone is going to make $10 an hour to start out but by teaching the advantages of what that job does for you in the long run is a great learning experience for any of them.

In my opinion if we don't do something soon we are going to be looking at an even bigger problem in the future. I won't claim to have all the answers but I am willing to listen to those on the front line and try to make changes not only for the good of the children involved but also the county as a whole because what happens does effect us all. Remember you don't throw the baby out with the bath water, you clean them up, and when they fall you pick them up.

Also keep in mind that we have teenagers that are out on the streets not because of something they have done, but because of the families they were born into. This is a very sad situation for all of us because of the possible outcome.

One cold winter evening I was sitting in my taxi awaiting the next fare. A teenager came up to my cab and asked me if he could sit with me and warm up. I said, "Sure, hop in." It was about 11 p.m. and he told me why he was out there. His father was physically abusive and his mother was on drugs. He was safer on the streets than he was at home. He was also tired and hungry but he had no place to go. I started making phone calls but he was too young to be taken in by most of the local drop-in centers. I called the police department to ask for suggestions the only thing they said was they could send a squad up. He didn't want that and I saw no reason to push the issue at that time. I was at a loss with what to do but I gave him some money to get something to eat and dropped him off downtown. I gavbe him my personal card and told him to call if he needed some help, and I would try to come up with something else. I didn't see him again but it gives you an idea of the things that are going on out there when the sun goes down.

The next day I went on a mission to find the answers of who, where, and when. Since then I have acquired quite a few phone numbers of who to contact in case this happens again. I never again want to be put in that position without knowing what to do or who to contact. Hopefully I helped a little bit that night. I just wish I could have done more.