Hank Thompson is back in the host's chair this week as DJ Wilson tackles some health issues. Check out Thompson's usual show, "Voices," Sundays at 6pm on 88.7 WSIE.
James Clark is the VP of Community Outreach for Better Family Life, a 31-year-old St. Louis-based organization looking "To establish social, cultural, artistic, youth, economic, housing, and educational programs that help promote positive and innovative changes in the lives of individuals and their families."
Clark navigates what he calls the "thick web of violence in our city," treating families' front porches as the front line in the struggle to end violence in St. Louis.
This community outreach professional keeps his phone on 24/7 and shares some of the stories that keep him up at night and the strategies that get him up and moving each morning.
One of those strategies is Peace Fest, coming up on Saturday Oct 28th 11am-8pm in Forest Park's Aviation Field.
Here's a look at how the conversation went:
0-11:15 - Why Better Family Life? "There's no problem that a strong black family can't handle," says Thompson.
11:15-19:45 - Showing youth a better trajectory. There aren't brick-and-mortar or policy solutions to violence in our city streets.
19:45-25:15 - The neighborhood alliance model. Outreach workers go door to door within a specific "handprint" (don't say footprint) performing family assessments.
25:45-36:00 - Protests of police violence vs responses to street violence in our city. "They just came by and shot us," cried a young man to Clark during a late-night phone call.
36:00-47:30 - What can well-meaning white people do? Don't get stuck in "analysis paralysis," we know that poverty is the root of the problem.
48:00-55:53 - Peace Fest, "Packing Forest Park with peace loving people."