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Local News: Faith leaders target gangs Black Habits Articles A coalition of Toronto faith leaders plans to make the fight against guns and gangs personal by finding 400 mentors for at-risk youths, and opening 70 drop-in centres and after-school programs in their churches.

The action plan was announced yesterday during a prayer walk that ended at the Yonge Street memorial for 15- year-old Jane Creba, an innocent bystander killed during a Boxing Day gunfight.

“We can no longer sit back as a community and see our young people die in the streets,” said Rev. Don Meredith, chair of the GTA Faith Alliance. “Every week there is going to be something done within the faith community to eradicate this problem of gun violence.”

The pastors’ campaign against gangs began with a series of prayers at Nathan Phillips Square yesterday. The turnout was not large — about 30 pastors and churchgoers attended — but organizers like Pastor Al Bowen said the event was arranged over the weekend and intended mainly for church leaders.

“Each leader here represents hundreds of people. Did we bring all of our foot soldiers here today? No. We’re not speaking to thousands, we’re speaking to God,” Bowen said.

Gangs and guns have badly shaken the city over the past year. In 2005, there were 78 homicides, with 52 related to guns, including the death of Creba. She was shopping with her sister on Yonge Street on Dec. 26 when gangs began shooting at each other. Six other people were wounded. The first homicide victim of 2006, 21- year-old Dillan Anderson, was found dead in his car on New Year’s Day, another victim of a shooting.

The names of the pastors at yesterday’s prayer walk aren’t familiar to most people in the city, but they are the men who have long been working on the front lines with black youths or pushing politicians for change.

Pastors like Bowen said they announced their action plan yesterday without waiting for politicians to offer support or funding. Despite announcements by Prime Minister Paul Martin for a ban on handguns and a proposed Criminal Code change making it harder for those charged with gun offences to get bail, Bowen described most political responses as little more than “hot air.”

“We in the church groups can do something,” he said. “We can take volunteers and put them in the community to walk about. I do know that when you have a physical presence — other than the gangs — walking the streets, you can’t take their guns from them and you might become a target yourself, but at least you are challenging them as to who controls the turf.”

Note: TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Posted on Tuesday, January 03 @ 11:38:24 UTC by jcohen



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