ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – There have been multiple forums about teen violence in Orange County, and local leaders have been saying that community members need to step in and help with those youth problems.
The founder of iHope Mentoring, Marcus Brown, said he had one hope: to help teen boys in Orlando choose a better path than he did.
“This the same place where I grew up,” he said. “At this, the same place, at a point in time, I polluted because I sold drugs, and I committed crimes over here.”
Brown decided to do something about it, starting iHope Mentoring — a program at the Northwest Community Center that inspires youth to put guns down and stay off the streets.
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“We have too much of ridiculing the youth and not a lot of outreach...” Brown told News 6. “This is a crisis with the youth that are dying. Why aren’t we treating it as such?”
In the program, teens have weekly wellness checks and learn from speakers.
On Thursday in a forum with Orange County deputies, the teens learned how to interact with law enforcement and were taught their rights.
The children also say this creed daily: “I’m an overcomer. I’m someone special. I won’t be defeated. I’m not a part of my environment.”
David Pitts said his parents are thrilled about his involvement in the program.
“They feel good. They feel calm, so they don’t have to worry about me,” he said.
He’s using what he’s learning to help other kids.
“When they wanna do durgs, I be like, ‘No, don’t do that because you can get hurt from it,’” Pitts said.
The mentoring group is also raising money for a van, which will be used to take the teens on various trips. The group is seeking $25,000 for the van, and so far, they’ve raised just under $8,000.
For more information or to donate, visit the group’s website here.
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