A new year is supposed to bring expectations of better days,
but for many young men, a life of hopelessness is all they can
see. The idea of a job is impossible to imagine, and the
thought of even trying seems futile and pointless. In fact, one
of the greatest characteristics we see in the gang youth we
assist each day is hopelessness. It manifests itself in many
ways:
✦No sense of the future.
✦Living in survival mode.
✦Do not care if engaged in future-wrecking behavior.
✦Do not care about school because it is too future-oriented.
These hopeless young men live a destructive lifestyle, fueled
by feelings of insignificance and anger at society. Their deep
anger is misdirected toward the community in general because
it is too painful to believe they were unloved and have no
rightful place in the world.
How do we help a fractured young man find hope now?
Caring adults must provide the love that was never there, and
a job, so that he finds a rightful place to harness his energies
for the benefit of his own life.
We become the gang youth’s responsible role model to help
him through the turbulent season of hopelessness.
We are honored to be a part of this task for 2017. It is not just a
duty, it is a mission, and we are glad you are there to join us.
Together we can bring hope to the hopeless.
Thank you for being a part of this great and worthy endeavor.
May the Lord bless you in 2017.
