PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — So far this year, about 130 kids have been shot in Philadelphia, and 26 have been arrested for shootings — a significant increase over the last two years. A summer camp run by a West Philly native and former city cop is trying to turn that trend around and save lives.
"A lot of times we talk about at-risk kids. All of our kids are at risk," said Warren Harding.
"Our kids are being mowed down and not even having a chance to realize their potential."
Harding runs GREAT, or Gang Resistance Education And Training, a summer program out of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He grew up in West Philly and served as a city cop and has been leading this camp since 1995.
He says this summer may be the most important yet.
"Back in the day, when I was growing up, when I was their age, even the gangsters had a code," he said. "These young cats that are out here on the street, doing the things they are doing now, they don’t have any code. They don’t have any respect for anyone. They don’t have respect for themselves."
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Harding says he has visited schools where principals say they don't have a gang problem, but they may be mistaken.
"If your kids have to get to your school, ... it may not be the Crips and Bloods, but they have their neighborhood thugs going around doing the same," said Harding.
The aim of GREAT camp is to teach kids how to make good decisions, channel their anger and resolve conflicts.
"Empathy for others, how to communicate, how to say no and mean it, so people understand it," Harding said, "without crossing the line yourself and starting to do violence."
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Harding remains focused on teaching kids these critical skills to show them how to end the cycle of violence.
"Most people that get involved in that end up dead or in jail, and is that what you want to do? We tell them it’s a short life for these guys who are involved in this," he said.
The camp, which targets middle school age kids, runs in both Kensington and North Philly for the next month and provides free lunches. Information about how to sign up is available online.
