Feb. 19, 2009 — Messages of peace, empowerment and support echoed through Reichold Center amphitheater Thursday morning during the second annual Stop the Bleeding Youth Summit.
More than 600 seventh-grade students from St. Thomas and St. John attended the event aimed at promoting non-violence among young adults.
The STB summit and foundation are the creative effort Cheryl Francis, wife of Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis.
“What we do is we bring all the organizations around us that want to help the youth and the family and we support them, partner with them, and encourage them to be a part of anything we’re doing,” Francis said.
What they brought Friday was live local music, representatives from Crime Stoppers and Teen Line, school superintendents, and motivational speakers like Devin Robinson.
“You are on a mission,” Robinson told the students. “You have a purpose in this world. Success is something in each one of you.”
He went on to tell them of the ramifications of violence and the benefits of making good decisions.
The most original of messages came from Andrew Soliz, founder of Sacred Ways Native American teaching center in California. Soliz was raised in Lakota traditions and greeted and sang to the students in his native tongue.
His greeting “Mitake Oyasin” – literally translated, “all my relatives” — tied in to his theme of oneness. While encouraging respect of women and trusting intuition, he also told students that in his native tradition, when decisions were made, they kept in mind the next seven generations.
“You are the next generation,” he told students. “You are the ones we will look to.”
Superintendent Jeanette Smith Berry encouraged pride amongst the students during the national anthem, the Virgin Islands March, and in their education. She pointed out that the V.I. Territorial Assessment of Learning Test was coming up March 16-20 and asked them to show to the territory and the nation that they will, “do more to stop the bleeding.”
The students were also informed of two hotlines, Teen Line and Crime Stoppers USVI.
Teen Line is a free and anonymous peer-to-peer counseling service for youth across the territory to speak about anything from sex to domestic issues, according to director Laurie Christian.
Student presenter, Anumaat Kahina Christopher, a 15-year-old 10th grader of Per Ankh Institute in Frederiksted, St. Croix, shared information about the Teen Line program and also shared an original poem, “Life Not Equal to Violence.” The hotline is sponsored by Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands and can be reached at (340) 713-TEEN (8336).
Crime Stoppers USVI is also an anonymous hotline that was launched across the territory in early January to report any criminal activity, according to CS board chair Judi Fricks. She told students they could send texts to CRIMES (274637) or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) and receive a cash reward for any information leading to an arrest.
Local singer/songwriter Mada Niles performed the STB theme song and had students and teachers dancing at their seats and singing the chorus: "I would like to see more love and unity. Don’t want no more war, don’t want no more blood running in the streets."
All the 600 plus students, from Bertha C. Boschulte and Addelita Cancryn junior high schools on St. Thomas and Julius E. Sprauve on St. John, were sent home with gift bags. More importantly, they seemed to be bringing home the message, which resonated with them.
“We can solve our conflicts by just conversating with one another,” Cancryn student Shakiah Clarke said after the event. “We don’t have to be bad, we don’t have to solve it violently.”
The Stop the Bleeding Foundation is a non-profit organization designed to promote, educate, confront and foster accountability in the V.I. community against violence and abuse of youth through innovative communication, agency collaboration and responsible action.
The event was sponsored by a grant from the Law Enforcement Planning Commission and through the St. Croix Foundation.
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