Rebuilding Broken Places, CDC, Goldsboro/ Wayne Chapter NAACP and Concerned Clergy Unite with Form

STOP The Funeral Initiative to hold a Press Conference to announce the Third Annual Drug Dealer Gang Member Redemption Conference November 18th, 19th and 20th
By: Stop The Funeral Initiative
 
 
DDGM Conference
DDGM Conference
Nov. 13, 2009 - PRLog -- PRESS ADVISORY

STOP The Funeral Initiative to hold a Press Conference
to announce the
Third Annual Drug Dealer Gang Member Redemption Conference
November 18th, 19th and 20th

 
The Press Conference will be held on November 13, 2009  at 11:00AM at  
Rebuilding Broken Places CDC, 2105 North William Street, Goldsboro.

The STOP the Funeral Initiative is a unique initiative formed in collaboration with Rebuilding Broken Places CDC, the Goldsboro Wayne Chapter of the NAACP  and Covenant Partners from the faith community and in response to the current gang related violence and drug abuse crisis in our community as evidenced by the April, 2007 violent incident outside of the McIntyre Funeral Home and Gardens and the continuing violence and senseless loss of life that plagues our community.  We have established that there needs to be a focused strategy emanating from within the faith community. The STOP The Funeral Initiative and our covenant partners have agreed to a Twelve Point Action Plan of Engagement and has held many community events to get the word out that we want these unnecessary funerals, gang and drug violence to stop.
 
Our 2009 Drug Dealer/Gang Member Redemption Conference will be held at the Goldsboro Raleigh Assembly, 214 Hooks River Road, Goldsboro, NC. This is our third annual conference and a part of our ongoing outreach effort to impact the entire drug and gang culture in our community.   About Stop the Funeral Imitative and this conference, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, State President of the NAACP and Co-Convener of the Initiative, says, "Those who have changed, who have turned from lives of death, can now bring messages of change and life with real power"

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, schools and Day Reporting Center and others in the community.  Our workshops and presentations focus around four major areas; Examples: people who have been in and have come out; Dealing with anger, frustrations, etc.; Possibilities and Opportunities; and Turning it Around. This year we have assembled a dynamic group of conference presenters.

On Wednesday, November 18th, we are focusing on our youngest participants.  We have arranged with our alternative schools and ADLA Structured Day programs to bring their students to the conference.  

Veronique Link, with Community Success Initiative(CSI), an organization out of Raleigh that focuses on reducing recidivism and providing options and alternatives for those previously incarcerated, will begin with a session entitled, "Changing your life Principles: to Live or to Die"; a powerful luncheon message by Rev. Eric Perry;  a session on Goal Setting by Kevin Smith, Exec. Director of Diamond Shapers, a youth program for young men, and Danny King, CEO of ADLA Structured Day program will round out the day with the message, “Where do you go from here?.”

Thursday’s program will again feature CSI with a session entitled “Where the Game Begins and Where the Game Ends: the Truth” and “How to Turn it Around” followed by “Do you understand what drugs and jail and violence are really doing”, presented by Dr. Isaac Robinson, Director of Social Work, NC Central University;  Erin Byrd, from the NC Justice Center presenting, "The Prison System, Open for Business; "Slavery in the New Millennium"; Ms. Brenda Ward speakingFrom a Mother’s Heart; followed by a testimonial by Glenwood Burden, Jr. and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, NC NAACP President and Stop the Funeral Co-Convener, presenting Twelve Affirmations of Change.  Thursday’s session will conclude with Vivica McIntyre of the Employment Security Commission on “Jobs, What You Need to Know”.

Our Friday session will begin with two powerful workshops: For the Ladies Only, presented by Danielle Stevens, of Wayne Uplift and for the guys, “Vegasology”, presented by Otis Lyons of Campaign4Change, Raleigh, NC.  Khayyam Shepherd will give his personal testimony in his presentation “It may not be easy – But it’s Possible” and our luncheon speakers will be Arthur Johnson, the Father of James Johnson and Sheriff Carey Winders.  The conference will conclude with a powerful workshop by Campaign4Change entitled, “No Mo Gang Bangin’”.

Each afternoon will feature a resource fair where conference participants can get information on employment and training opportunities, and educational opportunities available at James Sprunt, Johnston Community College and Wayne Community College.

On Friday evening, all participants and their families are invited to attend our graduation service.  Participants that attend the conference are eligible for graduation and will receive certificates. Our graduation speaker is Rev. Reginald Longcrier, CEO of Exodus Homes/Exodus Works, Hickory, NC which provides supportive services for homeless, recovering addicts, alcoholics, and formerly incarcerated people returning to the community from treatment programs and prison.  

Our collaborations with the Wayne County Superior Court and District Court judges, Wayne County District Attorney’s Office, Goldsboro Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, Goldsboro City Council, Goldsboro Parks and Recreation, Wayne County Commissioners, Wayne County Public School System, Triangle Lost Generation Task Force, Community Success Initiative, NC Central University Department of Social Work, Campaign-4-Change, Employment Security Commission, Wayne Community College, Mt. Olive College, Johnston Community College, James Sprunt Community College, Armed Forces Recruiters and others in the community, have resulted in more than 150 participants in attendance at our Drug Dealer/Gang Member Redemption Conferences with nearly half making a commitment to change.

If you have questions or desire further information, please contact Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II at 919 394-8137 or Francine Smith, program manager at our office at (919) 581-9178 ext. 104 or by email at theunityrevival@gmail.com

# # #

A collaborative effort of RBPCDC, Goldsboro/Wayne Branch-NAACP, and the faith community united to be a catalyst for stopping drug and gang violence in Wayne County. Begun in April, 2007 after a homicide following a funeral at McIntyre’s Funeral Home
End
Source:Stop The Funeral Initiative
Email:***@gmail.com Email Verified
Zip:27530
Tags:Recidivism, Gangs, Drug Dealers, Former Felons, Change, Violence
Industry:Non-profit, Education, Religion
Location:Goldsboro - North Carolina - United States
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