WHEN people speak of York Town in Clarendon there is a stigma — violence, criminals and gun battles often resulting in death.

It is also a place where you are told not to go if you are not familiar with the residents.

Moreover, one may question how York Town, which consists of five

areas — Ballards, Contents, Rhymesbury, Settlement and St Andrew — regarded as a once peaceful community came to have such a bad rap.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the area, David Brown, president of the 18-year-old York Town Community Foundation, now a benevolent society, said the violence started as a family feud, which eventually escalated to other areas.

“It was a case where one family in one section had a disagreement with another family over guns and it became an eye for an eye situation,” he said. “It started spreading to other areas and it was like an Israel against Palestine situation. It seemed as if it would never stop and people were being brought up with the idea of war. People’s houses started to be burnt down and the situation became very distasteful.”

According to Brown, between the seven-year period of 2004 to 2011, the area recorded over 70 murders, which left a feeling of gloom over the community.

“People started accepting what was happening and lived in fear,” he said.

But, in 2011, the benevolent society decided that “enough was enough” and according to Brown set up an intervention programme to restore peace in the community.

“When the feud started getting out of hand it woke us up. We could not let thugs destroy our community,” he stated.

As a result, a community league was introduced where citizens from the five areas faced off in netball and football competitions. The purpose, Brown said, was to foster integration.

“All five areas were required to have a football and netball team. The aim was to get them together to mingle and socialise. Each team has to draft players from another area, so they have no choice but to establish friendships, if they intended to be strong competitors,” Brown said.

Subsequently, Brown explained, with the introduction of the intervention programme in 2011 the area has recorded only four murders and the fear instilled in residents has diminished.

“We have a community centre where we play the games and whenever a match is being played you see hundreds of people turn out. These are the same people who will tell you that in past years they would never be out of their home past 6:00 pm, but they also say that now they realise they can survive without war. We are now in year four and we have only four murders moving from 70 over seven years. We are absolutely certain our intervention had something to do with it,” he said.

Gaston Thomas, chairman of the sports committee and treasurer of the association, said the sports programme and intervention is a cure process, which has to be continuous.

“It has to be ongoing. Doing it one time will not work, else you will not get the results you want. We have to keep working on the sickness — crime until we get a cure,” he said.

Thomas added that with the help of sponsors the teams are provided with full gear, balls, umpire fees are paid, medals and cash prizes totalling $50,000 are given to further encourage community members.

Apart from the sports programme, the association introduced town hall meetings, summer camps, an after-school programme and a cultural extravaganza — a sit-down dinner, which exposes citizens to various forms of social etiquette and cultural performances.

Brown said: “In 2014 we had a summer camp where 26 youngsters from the community benefited. It offered remedial mathematics and English Language classes and also guidance and counselling. The objective was to get them to the level

to access the HEART programme and Career Advancement Programme and most of them from the camp gained access to these programmes. The after-school programme helped students with their homework and also helped some to access scholarships and bursaries. We were even able to get some into a summer employment programme offered by the Citizens Security and Justice Programme.”

Currently, the main project of the organisation is refurbishing an old cottage at the York Town Primary School which will serve as an office for the organisation and a homework centre to help with remedial programmes.

“We have to continue working on our residents and bring them to the level to be trained,” Brown said.

Alongside Brown, notable surgeon Dr Alfred Dawes, a past student of York Town Primary, who was also raised in the community, said that to avoid the war, the association’s aim is to fight to go back to a state where everyone lives in peace.

“We have an educated set of past students who are trying to give back. Just as how the gangs were able to influence the community, we who have a good education are trying to instil that and promote peace,” he said.

For Brown, though his greatest challenge is adequate funding and locating a suitable leader to take over when his term of president ends, he remains steadfast to ensuring that York Town maintains peace.

Brown expressed gratitude to the sponsors, among them Juici Patties, Member of Parliament Noel Arscott,

the Social Development Commission that helped to access funding from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund and European Union for the summer camp in 2014, the Citizens Security and Justice programme, friends from Atlanta, Georgia, Enviro Tech, Jamaica Aluminium Company (JAMALCO) and others. He also expressed thanks to the primary school’s principal for the unlimited access he has given them to the school. He added that on July 19, the community will have a one day fair to further integrate the citizens and thank the friends from Atlanta Georgia group, who will be providing the funding for the activity.

“Without the help we couldn’t accomplish much of what has been done and we are grateful,” he said.