Left to right: Stephanie, Zeb, Caleb, Austin, Roberta
On November 21, Caleb, Austin, and myself went to talk to the New York City Crime Commission. We met with Stephanie Ueberal, a physiology major, and her intern, Roberta. They told us what they did, and told us some stories about their work. They also spoke about the structure of their organization. They said that they would help people, and then some of those people would go and tell other members of their gang about the organization, so that they could get help as well. There are also people who go and stop fights before they even start. We hope to speak with one of those people soon. They also talked to us about how to spread the word about youth in gangs, and why that’s a problem. They also set us up with a man named Bob Desena, who created an organization called Council for Unity. They work to rehabilitate former gang members, and get them to help others. We hope to visit them soon. Another thing Stephanie told us is that doing something like this is really something to be proud of, but at the same time very challenging. She said that it is hard to know when to interfere when you’re just walking down the street. People generally take advice better from those they know and trust, rather than a complete stranger. Dr. Dave, from our last visit, said a similar thing (see last post). We now have something in the works for our next field work. We are going to a school.
