Pleading For A Way Out

This is a special kind of terror. They don’t speak of it, not directly, and they try to mask it, because no kid wants to have anyone read the fear on his face. Not his friends. Definitely not his enemies.

It’s the fear that you are never going to get home from school.

When I was a kid, there were fights after school. Sometimes I was in the melee. If not a combatant, I would be in the crowd. 

Times have changed. There are still fights after school, but now, all too often, the weapons are not fists, but knives and guns. These are kids, remember. Kids … settling scores—stupid, trivial scores—with knives and guns.

This winter, crime exploded in Paterson, New Jersey, where we have two after-school programs. I noticed a common thread, with the arrival of every news bulletin of more violence. Our kids always call Street2Street when there’s trouble.

Dante, a 14-year-old Street2Street regular, witnessed a stabbing of a classmate after school, his first instinct was to call Coach André.

And that same week when Dante’s friend Devin fell victim to a gunshot wound and was bedridden, his first call was to Coach André.

Devin had been introduced to Street2Street by Dante. He was enjoying the program but hadn’t taken the all-important step of leaving his street life behind.

Until this.

His bullet wound would heal, but as he lay there staring at the ceiling, Devin imagined the life he wanted to lead. Though he didn’t know how to get there, he knew who to call.

“Hey Coach,” Devin’s voice was soft, missing its usual bravado. “Can you help me make a resume?”

The request was earnest, mixed with a bit of desperation. For in that request, Devin was pleading for a way out of the life he led in the streets. It wasn’t about the resume, it was about rescue.

This season, Street2Street is hosting Spring League, a ten-week league for children 13-18 years old, complete with basketball practice every Friday night and games all day on Saturday. 

Within a week, registration was full. Street2Street regulars signed up and invited their friends, and word got around that there was a safe place to play basketball. More importantly, a safe place to turn their lives around.

Now, at the start of the league, our numbers have doubled, making this the largest Street2Street league ever. 

Your gifts to Street2Street are the lifeline for Devin and Dante, and so many others.

The lifeline to a future—a future without fear, where they will become what God created them to be.