FIXED on securing a better future for themselves and their families, inner-city youngsters have expressed gratitude for the ‘Positive Yute’ programme, which was designed to dissuade them from criminal activities and gain life skills to become successful.

On Friday, eight of the 15 youth from Denham Town High School in the programme, whose names are being withheld, were engaged in an orientation session for their cognitive behavioural therapy which they will attend for the next 18 weeks.

They were delighted to share their expectations about the initiative.

“I am looking to have a much more positive attitude, and I wish more youth could join and help it to grow and seek out the positives that it is all about. I am just hoping for the best,” said one 16-year-old who wishes to become a business owner.

Another 16-year-old student, who noted that he was thankful for the programme, is expecting it to be life-changing for him and his family.

“I feel good about this programme and I want it to push me further in life if I just participate. Mi just waan tek my family dem outta the ghetto ennu, ’cause mi cyaan bother wid too much gunshot. People a dead everyday and mi just tired a it,” the youngster told the Jamaica Observer.

A 15-year-old said the programme will inspire him and his peers to avoid crime.

“I really respect what they are doing for us. It can help me to be a better person because when mi out school mi can get a job and it give we a better mindset nuh fi fire shot and dem ting deh,” he said.

The programme was developed through the MultiCare Youth Foundation (MYF), a leading social development organisation which provides interventions for medium- and high-risk youth.

The MYF was awarded a 24-month grant valued at US$16.7 million by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) under its Positive Pathway activity in August.

A total of 315 at-risk youth from volatile areas across Kingston and St Andrew, St James, Clarendon, and St Catherine will be provided with skills training, mentoring, psycho-social support and employment.

Some of the communities include Hannah Town, Denham Town, Gregory Park, Salt Spring, Effortville, and Newlands Road.

Dean of discipline at Denham Town High School Christine Hews-Johnson told the Observer that the initiative was introduced to the students at the right time, as there are ongoing gang feuds in neighbouring communities.

She noted that the programme will help students to understand the importance of dealing with their conflicts in an appropriate manner.

“The students leave the community to come into the schools [and] at times they bring the issues from the communities into the schools and we are very much concerned about that,” she said.

“These are students who have been suspended a number of times, prone to be part of gangs, easy to be used by gangs in the community, and so we want to positively impact them. This programme couldn’t have come at a better time so that we can speak to these children and change some of their thought processes. The mind is their battlefield, and that’s where we need to start working on,” she added.

At the same time, executive director of the MultiCare Youth Foundation Alicia Glasglow Gentles noted that the programme targets medium- and high-risk youth through a selection process.

“Through referrals from deans, based on the behaviour of the students over the last two years, it’s determined whether the youth needs help. Then screening and assessment are done and, based on the score — low, medium or high risk — we select the youth. We also look at those who are 15 and older who are not in school,” she said.

Paul Teeple, chief of party for the USAID Positive Pathways Activity in Jamaica, said while the communities are high priority for the Government, the areas have demonstrated an interest in working to find solutions to the crime and violence.

“Some of the youth we work with, we have identified, have experienced trauma in their lives, witnessed terrible things, have a lot of negative influences around them. These are great kids and they want to have a positive life and do the right thing, but they have been traumatised,” he said.

“This programme will help them to develop coping mechanisms and help them understand triggers so that when they encounter intense situations, they are able to make the right choices,” he explained.