The Men of CeaseFire: Their thoughts on Their Mission.

TY, SEAN, REV. EVANS, ANDRE W, ANDRE N, MARCUS, & SENECA

      May 1, 2013:     I must admit the original idea for this blog entry was to interview one person about their role in the organization known as Ceasefire in Lake County, IL.  However, as I would soon learn, that person was only an extension of a greater form.  Our initial meeting was tentative.  I shook hands with seven men ( Andre N.,  Andre W.,  Marcus, Seneca, Sean, Ty, and Reverend Clarence Evans), all of whom identified themselves as brothers in the cause for peace in our communities. 

      Each of these individuals got two questions a piece and were really frank about how they felt about their roles and responsibilities in and out of CeaseFire.  And I was proud to have the opportunity to speak with each of them.

NSB:  Reverend, who where you before CeaseFire?  Who are you now?

C.  EVANS:  My name is Reverend Clarence Evans.  I was a person that was working in the community with at risk youth.  I'm also now the program manager of CeaseFire. And I still continue to go out and spread the word of CeaseFire and the word of God.

NSB:  Amen.  But, who are you now?

C. EVANS:   I'm a child of God.  I can't change that one.


NSB:  Marcus, how did you get your position and what do you love about your job?

Marcus:  I got my position by referral.  I watched a lot of the other brothers that were already working through CeaseFire.  And what I love about my job is helping the youth and giving back to the community that we tore down.

NSB:  Seneca, how does CeaseFire reach out to the community?

Seneca:  Basically, Ceasefire reaches out to the community by us going around trying to talk to troubled youth at different programs, at different schools and detention centers.  We just basically try to get out there and show them a positive setting-- barbecues and so forth. For example, we got a car show coming up right now, and we just try to show them that there are different means and alternatives to the ones that they are basically taking right now.

NSB:  How can the community become proactive and more involved with itself, Seneca?

Seneca:  Basically, the community can become more involved with itself by us just standing back and identifying the problem.  The problem starts at home.  My opinion on it is all the education starts at home.  And, instead of people pointing their fingers at the police or city hall, I believe us a  community and us as parents should be able to stand back and look at ourselves and  see what's going on in our homes.  And therefore, if we did that, we would be able to solve a lot of these problems that's going on in the streets right now.

NSB:  Sean, does being a part of CeaseFire give you some perspective or insight about your own past?

Sean:  Actually, it does because when I started getting in trouble I was in school at a young age and I see that a lot of these kids out here are growing up without parents or with parents that are not paying them any attention or growing up a single parent home.  And I know that I can tell these kids that if they don't start getting good grades or staying in school they could end up in jail or shot just like me.   It took me a long time just to get out of the streets because I just thought that all the time I would get in trouble I would just get a slap on the wrist.  And that's what a lot of the system is doing to these kids, giving them a slap on the wrist.  And then they end up, later down the line, getting into some really big trouble.  Just like I did.   So, now that I've gotten involved with CeaseFire, it's actually therapeutic for me too.  Because I know that me seeing them going through the same things and in the same cycle that they could end up  going to jail.  Having been in that trouble myself, I've got three boys and I don't want to see them going through the same things.  That's why I try to keep them in their books.  Because I know it all starts at home.  So, if I make good decisions, then my kids should make good decisions.

NSB:  How do you use that insight to reach out to the youth?

Sean:  If they aren't my child, you know.  If I see someone out on the corner, most likely, I know what they are doing.  So, I just tell them where they could be heading, where they need to be, and why they need to try and find the alternative of getting a job.  Telling them that everybody got to start off small.  That's how they can climb and become something.

NSB:  Ty, how do you approach an at risk youth?

Ty:  We approach the young men as men, you know.  Just try to give them an open mind as to what is going on.

NSB:  What advice do you give to them that wasn't given to you?

Ty:  The pros and the cons.  If this is what they want to do, then this is the consequences that they are going to face.  You can either do this or you can do it that way.   It's all about the choices that you make.  My job is just strictly to enforce or just give them the right options of the right way to take--being that I've been there and done that.

NSB:  Nine times out of ten, do they listen?

Ty:  Nine times out of ten, you probably get six of them that probably will listen.

NSB:  Andre N.  What scares you the most about being a parent now? 

Andre N.:  Well, you know, I have a thirteen year old now, and what scares me the most about being a parent is growing up around gangs and I want him to especially just get an education-- something I didn't have.  I didn't got to college, I went to prison.  So, right now, the school environment right now is just infested with gangs.  And I just don't want him to get involved with any gang activity.      I just want him to finish out his education, go on to college, and just be a better man than I was. 

NSB:  What else do you want for your kids that you didn't have?

I want them to be a part of their kids life forever.  And not go to prison and leave them. 

NSB:  Andre W.  What is the source of the madness in our communities at large?

Andre W.:  Poor supervision for the youth is one of the main reasons that things are going the way the are.  What you do is sit back and pay more attention to these youngsters--focus more on them.  Be more hands on with them instead of sitting back, and letting things go on.


It is nice to know that people can change, take responsibility for themselves and turn their own lives around like these men have.  The road that they walked wasn't easy, but each of them paid dearly for their bad choices.  They own and acknowledge the choices they have made and have become better men for them each in his own right. 

That said, this conversation is not finished.  I had to ask them how they felt about gun control legislation as an effective means to curve violence in Urban Areas.  It's been on the news, the issue has been before Congress, and now I offer the issue to the men of Ceasefire.  Read the next posting about the men of Ceasefire.   Their answers just may enlighten you.