STOP the Funeral set to hold yearly redemption conference
By From staff reports
Published in News on February 20, 2013 1:46 PM
The STOP The Funeral Initiative is planning its 2012 Drug Dealer/Gang Member Redemption Conference for Thursday and Friday.
The conference will be held at Greenleaf Christian Church at 2110 N. William St. on Thursday and Friday for adults and at Word of Faith Center at 906 Buck Swamp Road on Friday for youth ages 18 and under only.
The Drug Dealer/Gang Member Redemption Conference is designed to reach those young people that are on the periphery of the drug and gang culture and to assist them in making life changes.
Conference participants come from referrals from the court system, police department, alternative schools, the Day Reporting Center and others in the community.
Workshops and presentations focus around four major areas:
* Examples of people who have been in and have come out of the drug/gang culture
* Dealing with anger, frustrations, etc.
* Possibilities and opportunities
* Turning it around
This year, the organization has assembled a dynamic group of conference presenters to facilitate the message of hope for young people who feel trapped in a cycle of crime and violence.
The STOP the Funeral Initiative was formed in collaboration with Rebuilding Broken Places CDC, the Goldsboro Wayne Chapter of the NAACP and Covenant Partners from the faith community in response to gang related violence and drug abuse crisis in Goldsboro and Wayne County.
Goldsboro's violent crime rate in 2010 was more than 50 percent higher than the national average and was even higher than the state average.
There were 19 murders reported in Wayne County last year alone.
The STOP The Funeral Initiative and its covenant partners have agreed to a 12-Point Action Plan of Engagement and has held many community events to get the word out that the community wants this gang and drug activity and this violence to stop.
For information, call 919-581-9178, ext. 104.