TWENTY-seven-year-old Omar Latouche, a reformed gangster and ex-convict, has a very powerful message for young men who might be drawn to a life of crime and gangsterism: "We go jail for you. We get remanded for you and we spend time in prison for you already, so you don't have to do that. Leave the crime and violence alone. It is not worth it."

Latouche is a member of Men With A Message, an advocacy group sponsored by the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP), which consists of former gang members and ex-convicts who have turned their lives around and are now delivering motivational messages in schools, on street corners and via the media.

Latouche, once a feared gang member who once commanded in the streets of August Town, St Andrew, said he has ran the gamut of crime and has had his fill.

He recounts that he sunk into the abyss of criminality after his father was fatally shot by cops and he and his brother found two guns that his father had left. He was only 13 at the time.

"He did not leave a good legacy," he said of his father.

Since his transformation however, Latouche — along with the other members of Men With A Message — has played an integral role in trying to steer potential gangsters away from that socially destructive lifestyle.

CSJP Social Marketing Co-ordinator Gillian Scott said the group was formed in August last year and all its members have been rigorously screened to ensure that they are sincere and committed to shedding the gangster way of life.

"It is about decreasing the social acceptance of violence in the communities we serve," Scott told the Sunday Observer. "It is about how can we empower residents to be a part of the process of change, and the main target group is males at risk."

According to Scott, Men With A Message reached out to a total of 1,114 males within the first two months of its outreach programme. Of that number, 738 were addressed in school meetings and assemblies, including 'Boys' Days', morning devotions and at the LEAP (Learning for Earning Activity Programme) centre for expelled students.

The group also interacted one-on-one with another 376 'unattached' (unemployed and not in school) men on street corners. Up to December 2010, Men With A Message had referred 29 young men from street corners to the community action team for follow-up. By the end of January 2011, referrals reportedly had more than doubled, Scott said.

Members of the group are supplied with forms each month to file reports and referral slips to enable the CSJP to keep track of the programme's 'clients'.

Scott said the group's message has been hitting all the right notes with at-risk males, especially since the members of Men With A Message and their target group are on the same wavelength and have had the same social experiences.

"When the members of Men With A Message speak, the whole room listens," she said.

Nicholas Miller used to call himself 'Devil'. The resident of Arnett Gardens in Kingston was once a feared enforcer in his community, but said he has made an about-turn after being positively influenced by Men With A Message.

"I thank God for CSJP, for finding me to come and do this," he told the Sunday Observer. "Maybe I am not a soldier or a police who are helping Jamaica in a big way, but this, this can help a lot. I have youths growing up now so I am going to want a better Jamaica for them. I am no longer the 'Devil'."

Miller has taken courses in welding at the HEART Trust/NTA and is now employed as a watchman at Charlie Smith High School.

He is aware that his former lifestyle has created enemies, but says he goes the extra mile to mend fences with those he may have been cruel to in the past.

"That never leave my mind. But me make it a point to make peace with them. All when nobody nuh hail me, me hail them. God see what me a do now, so I have to have faith in him," he said.

Scott said despite popular perception that former gang members such as Miller are forever viewed with suspicion by remaining gang members, the opposite is the reality.

"We expected that they may have been viewed with suspicion, but based on what they have told us there are indications that they are receiving respect, even from the police," Scott said.

During the height of a bloody gang feud which plagued the once fragmented community of Mountain View, St Andrew, Courtney Morris, also called 'Jah Flames', was very active in gang activity. But thanks to the efforts of the CSJP, Morris is now using his energy to keep at-risk males on the straight and narrow.

"I am really delighted to be a part of this and it gives me a real sense of joy to give back to the community by assisting other young persons by sharing my stories with them to help them so they don't actually make the same mistake," he said.

Morris pointed out that it was very easy for males from impoverished communities to be lured by the perceived power of the gun, especially when economic opportunities are scarce and social amenities are woefully lacking.

He was, however, confident that many of the gangsters are ready and willing to lay down their arms if they can be assured that they will be able to lead meaningful lives and be able to care for themselves and their families.

"Many of the youth want to put down dem gun, but they have to see something better," he said.

All the members of Men With A Message have been receiving vocational skills training at HEART/NTA.

A logo, song and other special programmes are also in the works to give the group a national platform to amplify its outreach.

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