On December 14, 2014, Caleb, Austin, and myself went to John Dewey High School to visit Bob DeSena, the founder of Council for Unity, or CFU. Council for Unity is an amazing organization that goes to schools and jails around the world to help kids and adults who are at a high risk of joining a gang, or have been a part of and/or are currently a part of one. CFU was created when Mr. DeSena was asked to bring together a group of rival gang members and have them sit and talk in a constructive way. DeSena thought it would never work, but agreed anyway. He got the leaders of a bunch of gangs to come, and to his surprise, it went incredibly well. When he came back to it a few years later, it had turned into a flowering thing that could bring people who had been shooting at each other the day before together. CFU strives to create a positive alternative for the dangerous family of a gang. Their rate of success is phenomenal as well. Some schools in areas with gang problems have a graduation rate of under 40%. When CFU came to help, the schools’ graduation rate doubled or more! Such results are rare to find elsewhere. Mr. DeSena also showed us a few short films about the work of CFU. They showed how it really improves the life of people in jail. It allows former rival gang members to open up to each other, and tell each other how they feel. They even feel like it’s okay to cry in front of each other. In one film, one former gang member starts crying mid-way through reading a letter of forgiveness he wrote to his mother. Instead of making fun of him, however, many of the people in the room got up to comfort him. Many CFU graduates come back to work with CFU later in their life as well. Council for Unity is a truly fantastic program. If you plan on making a donation any time soon, I wholeheartedly recommend Council for Unity as the recipient.
