An Omaha nonprofit hopes to restart a program to reduce youth violence. Compassion In Action works in jails and prisons to help people who are incarcerated, including juveniles. But after seeing some amazing statistics, they decided to bring back a prevention-focused program. Raw Dawg’s Youth Corps Gang Prevention operated in Omaha for three years, but after running out of money and vandalizing their facility, they quit. In 2022, 428 juveniles were arrested for crimes, and 122 of them were arrested for firearms offences. They said it was time to start over and stop the violence. It’s about discipline, validation and prevention. “We’ve been to parades and cleaned up communities. We’ve helped elderly people get their groceries, rake their garden, shovel their snow. That’s how we’ve taught our boys how to give back to the community,” said Teela Mickles, Founder and CEO of Compassion In Action. She started the original program of “teaching boys to be honorable men” in 2014 by avoiding and being attracted to gangs, according to Good. The program was discontinued in 2017. “We were in operation from 2014 to 2017. It really worked. We didn’t have any failures,” she said. Mickles had a realization after seeing the data presented at Saturday’s Youth Violence Prevention Summit. “In 2017, ‘When we quit, it started. Right after that, things start to explode for young people. So we know our program has been very effective,'” Mickles said. “If we look at the statistics that come from the Omaha Police Department, we see that our young people are committing more crimes, more violent crimes, and they’re at the age when we could have used prevention.” She plans to Raw to restart Dawgs.”There’s a new energy and then there’s a new need. And we’re also looking for the faith community to help us build to have a location where we can house a larger number of boys.” “said Mickles. Commanders of the program work with children ages 5 to 13. I will be reaching out to their families and helping them with their academic performance to reach them before they gang power over their peers and Influencing their peers rather than following the lead,” Mickles said. “We also want to find out from each child what area you think they need support in the most. Then get that help or those resources.” It’s the kind of program that Roscoe Wallace said could have helped him. “I was nine years old when I actually started down this path, but I would say that I was dealing with the real violence and things like that, I would say probably 15 years old,” Wallace said. Now he’s telling his story as an example, but he’s hoping these kids avoid the lifestyle and jump straight to success. “You see that credibility. I understand these emotions. I was there. So there is a softening in this relationship. And then you can start looking at some of the most important core things that drive behavior,” Wallace said. Wallace said young black men benefit from someone who understands their lives, cares about them and sees a future for them, even if they fall off the path: “You have to be responsible for it. But you still have value . But you have to see that image. It has to be consistent in front of you. So, yeah, I think a program like this is going to be very beneficial,” Wallace said. The original program was also used by the UNMC in a study of violence in Omaha Recognized. At this time the program is only in the early stages of restarting, funding, staffing and curriculum are still needed. To learn more, click here.
An Omaha nonprofit hopes to restart a program to reduce youth violence.
Compassion In Action works in jails and prisons to help people who are incarcerated, including juveniles. But after seeing some amazing statistics, they decided to bring back a program focused on prevention.
Raw Dawg’s Youth Corps Gang Prevention operated in Omaha for three years, but after running out of money and having their facility vandalized, they quit.
In 2022, 428 juveniles were arrested for crimes, and 122 of them were arrested for firearms offences.
They said it was time to start over and stop the violence. It’s discipline, validation and prevention.
“We’ve been in parades and cleaning up communities. We’ve helped elderly people get their groceries, rake their garden, shovel their snow. It’s how we’ve taught our boys how to give back to the community,” said Teela Mickles, Founder and CEO of Compassion In Action.
She started the original program in 2014 to “teach boys to be honorable men” by avoiding gangs and being attracted to good.
The program was discontinued in 2017.
“We were in operation from 2014 to 2017. It really worked. We didn’t have any failures,” she said.
Mickles had a realization after seeing the data presented at Saturday’s Youth Violence Prevention Summit.
“When we quit in 2017, it started. Right after that things start to simmer for young people. So we know our program has been very effective,” Mickles said. “If we look at the statistics from the Omaha Police Department, we find that our young people are committing more crimes, more violent crimes, and they are at an age when we could have used prevention.”
She plans to reboot Raw Dawgs.
“There is a new energy and then there is a new need. And we’re also looking to the faith community to help us build to have a place where we can house a larger number of boys,” Mickles said.
Commanders of the program work with children aged 5 to 13 years. They will contact their families and help with their academics with the goal of reaching them before they get into gangs.
“We just want to give these boys that support in their families, in their communities, in their schools. And so they also have power over their peers and influence their peers instead of following the lead,” Mickles said. “We, too, want to find out from each child what area you think they need support with the most, and then get that help or those resources.”
It’s the kind of program that Roscoe Wallace said could have helped him.
“I was nine years old when I actually started down this path, but I’d say if I’m looking into the real violence and stuff like that, I’d say probably 15 years old,” Wallace said.
Now he’s telling his story as an example, but he hopes these kids will eschew the lifestyle and jump straight to success
“You see that credibility. I understand these emotions. I was there. So there is a softening in this relationship. And then you can start looking at some of the most important core things that drive behavior,” Wallace said.
Wallace said that young black men benefit from someone who understands their lives, cares about them, and sees a future for them even if they fall off the path.
“You have to take responsibility for that. But you still have value. But you have to see the picture. It must be consistent in front of you. So yes, I think a program like this will be very beneficial,” Wallace said.
The original program was also recognized by the UNMC in a study of violence in Omaha.
At the moment, the program is only in the initial stages of restarting, funding, staff and curriculum are still needed.
To learn more, click here.
