pottstown >> In the wake of violent incidents on Pottstown’s streets and rallies by citizens to curb the violence during the last year, a group of “peacemakers” has organized a youth summit.
“As a member of the bench, I’ve seen the violence that has been coming out of Pottstown, property violence and gun violence. It’s not just in Philadelphia, it’s in Montgomery County. Some of it has to do with socioeconomic reasons and loss of hope,” said Montgomery County Judge Garrett D. Page.
Page is among the speakers who will be participating at the Peacemakers Pottstown Youth Violence Prevention Summit on April 25.
As a judge, Page punishes those who commit crimes, but he added he also sees his role as an educator.
“So a part of this summit, the youth forum, is to educate. What we can do is have discussions about how the kids can be more involved in creative recreation, to stay away from the venues where shootings may take place,” Page explained.
The free summit will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club at the Ricketts Center, 640 Beech St.
Workshops addressing youth violence prevention and conflict resolution, employment and economic development, peer relationships and leadership skills are planned. Information to educate juveniles who are eligible under the law to have their criminal records expunged also will be available.
The event is sponsored by Frontline Dads Inc., a Philadelphia-based organization that provides mentoring services to youth by providing programs to empower them to assume leadership positions in their families and communities. Rueben Jones is executive director of the organization.
Similar youth summits previously were held at Temple Law School, at Arcadia University and in Philadelphia.
To register for the event, go to http://peacemakerspottstown2015.eventbrite.com
The idea for a Pottstown youth forum was born in January when Page was the keynote speaker at a Martin Luther King Day service at First Presbyterian Church in the borough, where he spoke about carrying out King’s mission for nonviolence. Page said Pottstown religious leaders approached him looking for solutions to the gun violence.
“The community is starving for answers as to why are these shootings taking place and what can we do to stop the shootings,” Page said. “That gave me the impetus to have this program. We hope that we have a good turnout.”
Flyers promoting the summit have been circulated by Pottstown’s religious community and have been posted in barbershops and other local businesses.
Page intends to take off his judicial robe, communicate and “hang out” with local youths and their parents who attend the summit.
“I believe having a judge come and talk to young kids can be a deterrent,” said Page, who believes he can be a role model and mentor for youths. “We want the youth to be the speakers and let us know what’s going on. Why are there shootings, why is there crime, et cetera?”
Page grew up in the east Germantown section of Philadelphia in the 1970s, an area then frequented by gangs and an area he often describes as “the hood” when he addresses defendants who come before him in court.
“A number of my friends were shot, killed. Back in the ’70s the gangs were big,” said Page, adding his mother, a home and school coordinator, and his father, a postal worker and community activist for safe streets, “kept us away from that” and ingrained in him a spirit of nonviolence. “I want them to know that I’ve been in the middle of it. I’m a survivor. Maybe that can give them some hope.”
Much of the violence, Page believes, is a sign kids have no hope.
“So they are looking for a casket at an early age of 20 and they’re selling drugs and with drugs go guns and violence,” said Page, who served as the county’s elected treasurer before being elected a judge. “It’s a quick pathway to death.”
But violence is not the way to solve problems and resolve conflicts, Page said.
In addition to Page, Hakim Jones, Norristown Area School District Truancy Abatement Specialist, and county Chief Public Defender Keir Bradford-Grey will be part of panel discussions at the summit.
“I strongly urge parents to come out because if they want better for their child then they’re going to help us help them,” Bradford-Grey said.
During the forum, Bradford-Grey will provide information about the collateral consequences of juvenile adjudications and policies kids are exposed to as a result of coming into contact with the juvenile justice system.
“When they come in contact with law enforcement those things stick on their records…and they find themselves in a quandary when they are applying for schools or employment or a trade and those opportunities have passed, by the time they come to us,” Bradford-Grey said.
Bradford-Grey said some who complete special probationary programs or are arrested but never convicted believe their criminal contacts are automatically cleared. That’s “a misconception,” Bradford-Grey said.
“Some of the kids don’t even know that they can get their records expunged and they have these records that are ruining their possibilities of getting jobs,” Page said.
Officials hope to educate young people about potential consequences of certain decisions and conduct.
“That what you do affects you later. Hopefully it may resonate with someone that this is not just temporary, that this could really relegate you to a certain lifestyle if you’re not aware of the consequences of your actions. It’s not just that you’re going to get punished today but you can get punished for a very long time,” Bradford-Grey said. “There are people who can’t get jobs because of things they did when they were 15 and they’re now in their 30s.”
Bradford-Grey’s office already offers a weekly clinic, for clients the office has represented in court, to assist those clients in clearing records that may be holding them back from leading successful, productive lives.
