Kareem Evans Quotations

We are at Armstrong Middle School, and we are actually trying to get into Bowman Middle School.

There is a presence here, but it's not what people think it is. It's not like it is in Dallas -- not saying as to how tough they are. If eight kids get together and call themselves whatever type gang, that's a presence; no matter how you want to describe it, it's a presence.

No. 1 is dealing with their teachers; they feel like say a teacher is wrong - no one wants to believe them or that the teacher is always right. We teach them that the teacher might not always be right, but that isn't a battle that you can win by getting up and acting out in class.

Just giving them that adult that they know they can come to for support...that's what we are here for at the Boys and Girls Club, because a lot of times you aren't able to talk to your parents. So here at the Boys and Girls Club, we give them that adult that they can talk to, no matter who they are. Mr. Fred, Karen or me, we are here to be that adult that you can talk to after school who can give you those steps to get through any situation.

We go into some of the schools and work with some of the kids, these the kids who are troubled, whether it's having outbursts in class or they are a part of some gang related activity. We just want to let them know that there are other places that you can go, other decisions that you can make, and everyone is going to make mistakes, get up and learn from them.

A sense of friends is important, to be a part of something. Many of them that are in gangs aren't into anything else. Most of those who are in gangs don't play sports or are in any after-school activities.

It's not your normal classroom setting; we sit around in a circle, where they have free range to talk. We teach them about respect and not talking when others are talking, a lot of life skills, current events and things like that.