Police programme recognises positive young role models
The court docket may be crammed full of young defendants, but a new programme initiated by the Police Department is betting that with the recognition of positive role models, more youths will stay on the right side of the law.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Meet seventeen year old Sasha Hernandez. Hernandez for most of her childhood struggled to fight off the many challenges she experienced after losing her mother at very young age. Sasha overcame bouts of depression and negative influences like peer pressure, and occupied herself by doing positive things like talking with the elderly and spending time with the residents of the Dorothy Menzies Children?s Home.
Today Sasha, who is a student at Canaan Seventh Day Adventist High School, was honoured by the police for doing the right thing. The latest initiative gives recognition to young persons who have managed to stay straight and are positive role models for their peers. The Programme?s Coordinator, Nuri Muhammed, says Do the Right Thing is part of Police Commissioner Gerald Westby?s five year plan to combat crime.
Nuri Muhammed, Coordinator, Do the Right Thing
?It?s an effort to acknowledge and to big up young people for actions that are examples of good citizenship, examples of productive living, examples of overcoming the challenges that so many young people are faced with.?
?They need to get an environment where the society is applauding doing the right thing to counter the amount of exposure to so much negative behaviour, both among youths and so-called models in society.?
Though Sasha had to work hard, she remained a good student was an inspiration to those around her like her sister Govonna York and foster parents Ruby and Adrian Harris.
Govonna York, Sister
?I am very, very proud of her. She has even topped what I had did, so I am basically moulded by her personality, her strong strength, her high spirited behaviour. So I am very, very proud of my little sister today.?
Adrian Harris, Foster Dad
?Sasha has always been a positive person; very, very positive. We try our very best to encourage her in anything that is positive and I think this is a result of it.?
Ruby Harris, Foster Mother
?You can count on her; that?s the important part. You can discuss with her whether it?s right or wrong and you can have any discussion with her and figure it out, there is always a road ahead. I was not surprised and I was very proud of her.?
Enid Oshon, Principal, Canaan 7th Day Adventist High
?I guess Sasha is a student who came from a very unique background and she has seemed to learn how to cope with not allowing situations to take her over. She has learned to turn things around from what may appear to be negative into something positive and use it as a springboard to move on to greater things and make a difference in her life.?
Sasha Hernandez
?I am an all around person like my mother said. I like to do things; I like to meet new people and all of that. So it?s just me, it?s just something, I don?t really know what it is, but it?s just something about me.?
On Monday, the police recognised their first recipient Hanniff Lemott, a student from Ladyville Technical High School.
Nuri Muhammed
?Hanniff was a young man, who we said started at S.J.C., got with the wrong crowd, he was expelled; he went to A.C.C., continued in that behaviour, he was expelled. But he talked about his life transformation when he got to Ladyville Technical and started to realise that he was on the wrong path and started to change his behaviour radically.?
?It is important to recognise that this programme is a pilot and so do the right thing is limited in this first year to just high school students, but by next year we hope to expand it to tertiary level, we hope to expand it to primary school. And we hope that we will structured in such a way that we can also do it for out of school youths, many of who, though they don?t go to school, though they are not in a necessarily structured environment, we see them, those of us who work on the street, we see that this young people are making quantum efforts and they ought to be also acknowledge for what they are doing.?
The police will be launching a number of programmes to help young people stay positive. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.
All recipients receive certificates and t-shirts. Eventually, one of the winners will be selected to go on a cruise vacation along with a parent. The programme is a countrywide initiative.
