January 2005 Edition

January 2005 Edition

The Original BOW-WOW Tells all!

Community News

Alert for Parents Everywhere.

Mount Haven Community Center

No Soap? No Toilet Paper? What's Not in your Child's School?

To Hell and Back

Your Feedback

The Original BOW-WOW Tells ALL!

Written By Craig Williams

They will always be THE RUFF.  Look for them in the future.

Community News

     Concentrating on our teenagers is a must. Our teenagers are being influenced by whatever is negative. They are smoking, drinking, robbing and thinking jail is the place to be. They have no fear or respect for authorities. Our teens have the wrong goals because they’re not thinking about finishing school and having a career. They’re looking for fast money, selling drugs, buying expensive clothes and jewelry, chilling on the corner smoking weed. That’s their aspect of a good life.

     We as parents have to talk to our teens more often. We need to know who, what, when and where about there lives to keep them off the streets. We as parents need to give them some positive ideas of what they can be doing instead of hanging on the corner. Everyday we walk past our kids not noticing them except when they make a mistake in the household. We’re yelling and screaming because they forgot to do the dishes or take out the garbage. As parents it has to be about more than taking out the garbage. Do you know what your kids want in life? We need to ask questions. Find out who they are as individuals. As parents are we satisfying our children needs?

     A lot of teens are afraid to communicate with their parents so they look to others, such as their peers for advice. And as we know sometimes they don’t always receive the best advice. Although teens sometimes communicate better with there peers, we as parents need to open the doors to others that they can refer to for guidance and the right advice when they don’t feel comfortable at home.

WHAT’S YOUR VIEWPOINT?  "Email us and let us know your viewpoint.  We will post your response to the response in the next issue".

Alert for Parents Everywhere!

     This is someone both adults and children trusted. He worked in the community affairs division and multiple children’s organizations where he gave up his vacation time to volunteer at three-summer camps-one in Los Angeles and two in Croatia.

     “This is a person who made it his life mission to surround himself with children”.  Tuitt has custody of three children but since his arrest they’ve been taken from him, and he’s being held on $250,000 bail.

Mount Haven Community Center

Mott Haven Community Center
Dwayne Jackson, Center Director
Robert Brown, Program Coordinator
375 East 143rd Street, Bronx, NY
(718) 292-4151

The Youth Leadership Program targets youth between the ages of 13 and 18.

·  Youth in 8th grade focus on developing the basic skills they need to succeed in school, prepare for the college admissions/application process and prepare for employment in addition to becoming more responsible, introspective and self-motivated teens. Trained as peer educators around the issues of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention, these youth are provided with meaningful opportunities to be leaders and positive role models both within their peer group and in their community.

·  Youth in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade participate in Project READY, one component of the Youth Leadership Program. Project READY focuses primarily upon preparing youth for the college application and admissions process and providing them with the academic, educational and emotional support they require to complete this process successfully.

     By stressing different skills and focusing on different aspects of the developmental process, the Youth Leadership Program provides youth between the ages of 13 and 18 with numerous and meaningful opportunities to develop academically, emotionally, and personally as well as to become stronger leaders and better role models both within their own peer groups and in the community at large.

No Soap, No Toilet Paper?

What's not in your Child's School?

     Toilets that don’t work. No doors on the stalls. No toilet paper, no soap, no paper towels. Those complaints are captured in photos given to the city council’s education committee. This problem has been heard before the City Hall Education Committee.

     Some of the teachers have gone to web sites to ask for donations of toilet paper, paper towels and soap.  However, the Department of Education claims not every school has shortages, though an official admits at some schools supplies are not in bathrooms at the principal’s request for reasons of possible vandalism.  But at the same time Brooklyn students must wear toiler paper around their necks when they need to use the bathroom. And there are concerns from parents and guardians that a child might choke if another child pulls it.

     The department of education tells us if there is any problem with bathroom at your child’s school they will fix it. You are advised to contact the parent coordinator or the principal, or you can call the city’s hotline at 311.

To Hell and Back

Written By Dennis Brooks

     My hell was not having control of my life so I could not be a productive member of society. Knowing these things my hell continued & what I mean by that I let people do what they wanted to me, when they wanted and how they wanted.

     I was first in line as long as they had the money I had the time. I would go in the darkest places, it did not matter to me. I did not care about anything; my kids, my life, my family. My hell told me it would take care of me, of course it was a lie. It took hard love from a family member for me to actually to see he really care about me. My brother had so much patience  to deal with my insanity.

     One night when I was street walking trying to get some money I ran dead face into my brother I could see the pain in his eye’s when he seen his sister his only sister walking the street. He just look at me as his eye’s watered up he just turned and walked away. I think it hurt me more then it hurt him because for the first time in a long time I seen and felt real love from a person. I wanted to call him but what could I say It look like I was seventy pounds dirty, stinking, and damn sure did not have any hair. That was the last time I seen a family member.

     Until I was half dead in the hospital the only number I could remember was my grandmothers number after I got in touch with her she called my mother and brothers. I did not really care to see my mother and older brother it was my next to older brother Antonio. When he walked in I just started to cry I wanted to hold my brother so bad so I can tell him I love him and I will make a change for the better. He showed me so much love, he did not care what I was I am his little sister that is all that matter to him.

     It was hard to escape from hell I must admit and start from the beginning. I had a lot of scars that I have to live with as well mentally and physically. But I have someone and something that’s stronger than hell that

Your Feedback

Questions and answers from you.

Why do children grow up to hate police officers, is it how the parents feel about the cops and that it rubs off on to our children?

 I would say children hate police officers for a number of reasons. One being enclosed in the question. Yes parents do have an influence in that just look back to the 30’s 40’s and 50’s and the infamous 60’s even up to now.  Many parents were lost to the foul doings of police and it goes across many racial lines. Youth goes hand and hand with rebellion so the law represents supposed order. So children do not want to be controlled. And growing up in the south Bronx i was not into many bad things as a child but like any young fella I could be mischievous. And I did not need  any parent to tell me anything about the police I saw it for myself. Call it a sixth sense of mistrust but to much I have read about or see on TV and biography reports about many innocent people being set up and sent to jail for life.

I mean not all police are bad but the ones that are spoil it for the rest of them who are into it to make a difference. And most police that patrolled our neighborhoods when we were coming up didn’t know anything about us but prejudge us and did not understand the environment or community they were sent to protect. What does a Caucasian from upstate know about a community in Brooklyn or the Bronx. Officers should be trained to integrate with the environment know who the community leaders are and work side by side with them. I mean soldiers are never sent into a battle zone without being fully briefed on a situation they know exactly who they need to go after to end whatever it is they want to end. I could go on and then we would be going into a whole other discussion.

Illogik, New Jersey

In my opinion, I feel children grow up hating police officers because of today’s society. At a young age children are watching television and how crooked these police officers are. They grow up with the mentality that cops and they are only out there to harass and convict and accused the innocent. I have kids of my own, and they see what goes on tv. Look at what’s presently in the news where cops are beating  up a black man uncontrollably. Children are watching this and seeing this. As they see how violent these shows are and the news are about police officers, they do not want to deal with the concept of any police authority approaching them. They grow up to hate cops and with the assumption that they are out there to make problems for the innocent.

I don’t feel it’s how the parents feel about the cops and it rubs off on the children. It’s all the focus on television and today’s society.

Diamond, Bronx N.Y.

Why do you think most rappers, go from fame to gang?

I think most rappers think if they act gangster they will get more respect, But in my opinion they asking for more trouble then they can handle. There are rappers out here dising respecting each other for no apparent reason. The next thing you know they want to kill each other.  I think they should keep it lyrically talk about how nice you are not how many people you killed and how you done it.

Marcus, Bronx NY

 I think these rappers should keep it real, They know they never killed no one never sold no big keys of coke. Dreams that’s all it is they are telling what they dream about cause 90% of these rappers are punks studio gangsters not to mention these kids are looking like them  trying to be like them “gangster” When the artist themselves know they are not. And what kills me the most when the artist talk about they are talking about the streets where they live bullshit. You mean your from a hood where you hear the worst of the worst stories but you never experience them that’s what counts. Plan and simple you never had a gun it was your mans, you never bust a gun your man did, And you never sold no fucking keys of coke you used them on your moms crib door.

Dedra, Bronx NY