Letters | MEN ON THE STREET: THE ONLY WAY TO CONNECT

RE YOUR editorial on

"Nine Concerns"

the

Daily News

has about the 10,000 men project:

If you spend as much time out in neighborhoods as I have (five years), what you notice almost immediately when you encounter younger men hanging on the corner is that you see no men old enough to be their fathers.

Only a man can teach a boy how to be a man - young men congregating together develop a piecemeal approach at best, a Cliff Notes version of becoming a man, and learning about money, girls, etc., without the necessary life substance to grow into manhood.

The core issue of the concept of putting men out on the street is to try to make a connection with a young man or men who could use a liaison or bridge to services or a motivational "Hey, man, hang in there." Sometimes that's what an African-American man needs to help him rethink his life options.

I remember one time during our outreach I had a discussion with a drug dealer in North Philadelphia. He told me, "Hey, old head, if I would have met you two years ago, maybe I would be doing something else."

I never forgot that. Maybe he would've made different choices, only he knows. But I felt that my reason for being on the street was to make a connection - not patrol. Let's not mistake a lack of communicating the message for a lack of commitment to purpose. If we have 10,000 men or 100,000 men, the hard work of connecting to a man in need is in the streets. This is just one front in a holistic battle to reduce violence in our community.

The neighborhoods that need caring men the most are places where men are on the economic and social margins of society. Often, these men have been, unemployed or locked out of the mainstream because of a history of incarceration, drug abuse, mental-health issues and bad choices.

You have to put enough guys on corners to reach as many men as you can if you are serious about having a long-term effect to improve their odds of making it in their community.

For all the critics, both pro and con, join us on the corner - where the real work begins and, in most cases, ends.

Ray Jones, Co-Founder

Men United for a Better Philadelphia

A Phillies blast!

While riding the bus to attend a Phillies game on Sept. 30, the day they clinched the National League East title, I noticed a sign on the Unitarian Church on Chestnut Street.

It read, "To lead the people, walk behind them." My first thought was the leadership of the Phils, from the manager to the players. They battled through their 4-11 start and many injuries. To me, that takes leadership!

Thanks for all the great comebacks and memories this season.

I stayed two hours after the game with my brother to celebrate the glorious victory that day with the fans and the team.

It was a blast!

Broad shoulders and a short memory help me to keep coming back every season. Now excuse me while I change into my Flyers jersey.

Virginia Buchanan

Andorra