KINGSTON, Jamaica — Several years after the St Catherine community of Tredegar Park was rocked by the gruesome murder of eight residents, police have been making significant inroad addressing the widespread crime problem.

Many residents of the community, located on the outskirts of Spanish Town, continue to laud the authorities on their efforts but still, others feel more could be done.

One group that has taken on the drive to make further positive change is the Tredegar Park Youth Club and Citizen Association.

“This is a group that is trying to make a difference in the area but not a lot of people are giving us the support we need,” Sashay Waite, public relations officer of the club told The Observer.

The youth club is responsible for organising a number of sport activities and community meetings for young people in the troubled area.

But twenty-year-old Waite said that because support from community members was dying, many frustrated youth in the area were at the point of giving up.

However, the group of young people has pledged to become more vocal taking their message and aspirations to residents as well as the wider community.

Waite is haunted by the memory of the death of the eight in 2010 and says she would never want to see the community revert to such depths.

Having youth involved in constructive activity is one sure way of curtailing the urge to become involved in crime, she says.