Durham programs steer youth away from life of crime: 'Positive light in this city'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Amid the ongoing challenges with crime in the City of Durham, several youth programs are ensuring children are focused on their future and out of trouble.

RNS Sports

November marks one year since Sherard Johnson lost one of the kids he used to work with to gun violence in Durham, and he said how the late teenager is on his mind when he does outreach in the Bull City.

"It's hit home, and so that's kind of why we're fighting this fight every single day," Johnson said.

Johnson, who's the president of RNS Sports, keeps young men off the streets and on the court with his program that also gives away hundreds of pairs of shoes to children in Durham once a year.

"They're just right in the trenches of everything that's going on, so, we're excited to be a positive light in this city," Johnson said.

So far this year, 24 young people under the age of 18 have been shot, according to Durham Police data as of October 19th.

"We talk so bad about our youth and what they're not doing, but we're not really seeing what they are doing and what they're crying out for," Johnson said. "We just need to continue to show our youth that we love them and that we're here for them."

Johnson shared some success stories about the program that demonstrate it is more than just a way for kids to stay busy, but a path to personal growth.

"We've had plenty of kids go on to play college basketball on full basketball athletic scholarships, even academic scholarships," Johnson said. "One of our kids started this clothing line, and we're going to get that off the ground for him. We're going to be launching that for him next month so he can make money the right way."

POOF Teen Center

Destiny Alexander has a heart for young people in her hometown in East Durham.

"I was a troubled teen in this area," Alexander said. "So, it was important for me to come back and try to change what that looks like."

Alexander is the director of POOF, which teaches young people about entrepreneurship and provides real-world experience and mentorship.

"I wanted to let them know this society doesn't have to define us," Alexander said. "We can define ourselves."

The teen center is located at the Village Shopping Center, where in the past few years, there have been several shootings. However, Alexander isn't letting the gun violence take a toll on her kids.

"We're right here in the heart of it," Alexander said. "We build trust. The teens still come. They're not afraid to come to this environment because we talk about trust, we teach trust."

Some of the success stories at POOF include one teenager who's from McDougald Terrace and is now one step closer to his dream of becoming an artist.

"He loves rapping," Alexander said. "He also just got the word he's going to be able to be produced on a song, and so that's really exciting for him."

Alyssa Tatum, who's a program operator, said a lot of the young people she works with are "very talented."

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"They can write, they can rap, they can sing," Tatum said. "That's very exciting for me as an artist, just to see that these young people have an outlet and they have a story."

In addition to leading bible study, Tatum also serves as a mentor who reminds at-risk youth of their potential.

"They're so often told what they're doing wrong or they're bad or they're being sent here and sit there, there's not enough edification," Tatum said. "So, we have to find the good in them and pull it out."

The program deals with roughly 100 kids, but Alexander said they're at risk of discontinuing the program if there's not enough funding.

In August, Durham Mayor Leo Williams announced the Bull City Future Fund that will help support non-profits focused on youth engagement, although it's too early to tell exactly how it'll impact POOF, according to Alexander.

"We can't go away," Alexander said. "We're just looking for a space or fund, and we would love to stay here because we see a problem here in this area. That's why we came to this area."