00:00 Empowering young people and giving them viable options.
00:04 That's where the St. James Police Youth Club says its focus is,
00:08 as it has embarked on a number of programs like Boys Without Fathers,
00:12 launched on June 19, 2023, targeting males
00:16 whose dads are absent for one reason or another,
00:20 including by way of incarceration or homicide.
00:24 According to the youth club's founder, Police Officer Derek Shabady, it allowed many of them to open up.
00:28 "They're missing their dad. Their dad is involved in A, B and C.
00:32 But more than that, we had men who were there to step in
00:36 and to work and to make sure there's a relationship established.
00:40 The Port Ispanyo Youth Club is doing excellent work with us in terms of a Big Brothers program,
00:46 where young men are learning to fill out an application form,
00:50 prepare them for the world of work, how to stand, how to sit, how to eat."
00:54 He says an agriculture program, a female support group and a literacy program
01:00 are among other initiatives geared towards better equipping young people,
01:04 giving them alternatives to a life of crime and steering them away from gangs.
01:10 "We have established the first suspension program, where children are suspended from school report to our center.
01:16 And it's not just coming to the center, but it's also making recommendations for them to go to Soho Hall,
01:20 to go to White Tap, to go to schools that are probably more vocational.
01:24 They come down to the center, they're seeing pandas, they're seeing gemology, computer classes,
01:28 and then they say, 'How can I join the Port Ispanyo Youth Club?'
01:32 So therefore, the youth club is not seen only as a place where you correct,
01:36 but as a place where you can come and have a second chance, it's a safe space."
01:40 Despite the work it is doing, Shabady states that funding remains a major issue for the club.
01:46 "We need more funding, we need to sustain our projects, we need to ensure that our projects blossom
01:51 and grow from strength to strength. We are launching a program with TV6 called 'Taking in Front'."
01:57 Shabady tells us the youth club is also in need of administrative assistance,
02:01 meals for the children who utilize the space and transportation.
02:07 "Sometimes they come from high-risk areas. Our bus is personally down, you see that.
02:11 And therefore, we have to guarantee the children leaving at-risk communities,
02:16 coming down to the center and reaching back home safe. So therefore, transport is paramount."
02:21 Help from the state covers certain costs, like utility bills and one or two other ventures,
02:27 once approvals for funding are granted.
02:30 "But we appeal to the private sector. The private sector within this geographical space,
02:35 it's the same as Shabady, I understand you're doing a good work. We would like to help.
02:39 We would like to take up assistance with the family. We would like to help you with your carpentry course.
02:45 We would like to assist you with a course for the females, basic things."
02:50 He calls for community service to be part and parcel of private sector engagement.
02:55 The St. James Police Youth Club has a match planned for March 30, 2024,
03:00 at a Queens Park savannah, which it calls a patriotic day.
03:04 "Sending a message our country is not for sale. We intend to get the blessings from the commissioner police.
03:11 We'll be using the savannah and just a massive day of red, black and white."
03:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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