By Tim Blaylock
Chief professional officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme
February 17, 2008

It is time to be outraged at the violence in our community and to stop pointing the finger of blame at our schools, our police departments, our cities, parents and people who may be different than we are.

It is time to look in the mirror.

The first, most enduring responsibility of every society is to ensure the health and well-being of its children.

Connect youth to trusted adults.

At the core of any violence-prevention effort is the role of caring, trusted adults in the life of each and every young person. These relationships must be positive and nurturing because they teach children and youths about the world. Kids and adults can connect through employment, a mentor, joining a community-based or faith-based group, quality after-school programs, participating on a team or doing community service. All young people need caring adults in their lives.

Programs such as those offered at the Boys & Girls Clubs offer more than a safe haven after school. They give youths opportunities to learn new skills, such as conflict resolution, how to improve grades, develop healthy relationships with people from all backgrounds and ages and how to prepare for a successful career. These skills are critical in helping youths develop a life of positive outcomes.

All our lives are at stake.

As a society, we will crumble if we do not create a future led by a generation of youth who are productive, responsible citizens who care as much about living an admirable life of self-sacrifice as they care about individual achievement.

Our future leaders must be guided by what is laudable in life — being productive and responsible citizens, civic-minded, concerned with giving rather than receiving, by seeking to understand and unite rather than discriminate and hate. We can only achieve this vision by engaging with our young people as caring adults, and by keeping our children engaged in activities that build strong character, values and ethics.

Imagine a generation where people just like Lawrence King and Brandon McInerney grow up to work together in Congress and city council, in corporate and community board rooms; work together to build social capital in our community to make Oxnard and Port Hueneme better places to live, and in so doing, affirm a life lived not only productively, but admirably.

We can realize this bold vision as our legacy, but only if we reject violence and refuse to accept it as a part of our daily lives in this society.

To lift a generation to a higher level of personal achievement and civic engagement requires personal sacrifices and support for youth-development programs. We must join together as a community and work as individuals, corporations, faith-based groups, government, private and public agencies, small businesses and youth groups to make a difference in these young lives.

Time is of the essence.

Hate, anger and violence aren't acceptable! Children are dying, and we all must own up to some responsibility for these senseless deaths. We must rally throughout our neighborhoods to make our children the priority, and not the problem. We must begin to care more about our young people and not just about one's own kids but all kids. And we need to care about each other. In our community, there can be no place for hate!

As a society, if we fail our youths, they in turn will fail us. It's time we demonstrate how much we care about all young people in our community. Without them, we have no hope and no future.

Take action.

There are many ways to help the youths of our community. Here are a few:

— If you identify a child facing difficult issues or crisis, call Ventura County's social-services hotline. Dial 211.

— To become involved helping youth as a volunteer, log on to http://www.volunteerventuracounty.org.

— For more information about youth development programs, call the Boys & Girls Club in your area. For Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, call 815-4959 or go to http://www.positiveplace4kids.org.

— Tim Blaylock is a Rio School District trustee and co-chairman of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office Building Assets Strengthening Individuals Commission Committee (BASICO). He is also the chief professional officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

VenturaCountyStar.com