Community Discussion on the root causes of youth violence and gangs and proposed solutions

What:
The Eastside Pioneers Neighborhood Association (ESPNA) is sponsoring a community-wide discussion on the root causes of youth violence and gangs. Our keynote speakers will seek to shed some light on this subject as well as provide us with solutions to help youth whose destructive belief system results in negative behavior.
Who:
Wendell Amstutz MA, author of A Handbook on Youth Violence and Gangs and Youth Violence: The Belief-Behavior Connection. Wendell spent 23 years as a youth worker on staff with Campus Life. Besides being a national conference/seminar speaker, he is the founder and Executive Director of the National Counseling Resource Center (NCRC). He was co-founder and first chairman of the Community Youth Violence Intervention Council (CYVIC) in Rochester, Minnesota, a city-sponsored task force, created in the 1990’s, geared toward combating street gangs.

Steve Thompson: Lead investigator for the Rochester Police Department Narcotics and Gang Unit.

Andre Crockett: Andre Crockett, a Rochester pastor who first came to Rochester from the urban Baltimore to play basketball at RCTC. He then received a scholarship to Winona State University (WSU) but due to a knee injury opted out of basketball at WSU. He married a WSU student and ended up staying in our community. Today Andre helps young people who have come to Rochester who previously lived in urban communities such as the Twin Cities, Chicago, New Orleans, etc. Andre also serves as Pastor of Prince of Peace Fellowship of Praise Church in Rochester.

When:
7:00 PM Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Where:
The Boys and Girls Club Gym, 1026 East Center Street
Why:
Our goal is to empower concerned citizens, neighborhoods, schools, politicians, parents, the faith community, businesses and civic organizations through the implementation of workable, practical solutions for the intervention and prevention of youth violence.

For more information please contact Eastside Pioneers Neighborhood Association, Michael J. LaPlante, President, 282-2667