For the past 12 years at Youth With A Purpose we have lived integrationally without focusing on it. Our youth center has always been a melting pot of blended races and cultures. Our camping trips always seem to have a multi-colored blend of people that was normal and natural - it happened without coercion. 

     We believe that segregation is a mindset whose growth is caused by a deficiency in leadership skills. When we teach children from a young age how to respect themselves and others, they will gravitate toward like-minded folks who reciprocate that respect. Compassion can be taught through demonstration. Accountability, responsibility, and self-discipline are leadership traits integrated into good character. Purposeful segregation is the result of negative character traits. Our fixation on integration to relieve segregation only results in moving folks to a new location when a heart alteration is needed.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

     We have worked with gang members in Buffalo, New York for the past 12 years. We know the answer to gang prevention is found in teaching leadership beginning at a young age. This includes teaching personal accountability, self-respect, compassion and the responsibilities of fatherhood as well as respect for women. 

     The YWAP Leadership Program can be found in schools in Buffalo and Niagara County. To bring YWAP to your school, conference or community center, please call: 716-830-8240. 


"Teaching character leadership today 
will reduce gang leadership in the future." 


The following article was taken from an email we received from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 





This fact sheet presents findings from the National Gang Center's National Youth Gang Survey, which collects data from a large, representative sample of local law enforcement agencies to track the size and scope of the national youth gang problem. The fact sheet discusses trends in gang activity, gang membership designation, and anti-gang measures.

Highlights of the 2012 National Youth Gang Survey

Arlen Egley, Jr., James C. Howell, and Meena Harris

This fact sheet provides an overview of the nation’s gang
problem. In 2012, there were an estimated 30,700 gangs
(an increase from 29,900 in 2011) and 850,000 gang
members (an increase from 782,500 in 2011) throughout
3,100 jurisdictions with gang problems (down from 3,300
in 2011). The number of reported gang-related homicides
increased 20 percent from 1,824 in 2011 to 2,363 in 2012.
About the Survey
Since 1996, the National Gang Center, through the
National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS), has collected data
annually from a large, representative sample of local law
enforcement agencies to track the size and scope of gang
activity nationwide. The sample consists of two groups: (1) all
police departments in cities with more than 50,000 residents
(larger cities) and all suburban county police and sheriffs’
departments, and (2) random samples of police departments
in cities with populations between 2,500 and 50,000 (smaller
cities) and rural county sheriffs’ departments.1
Survey Findings
This fact sheet summarizes findings from the 2012 survey. Of
the 2,538 survey recipients, 2,199 (87 percent) responded to
the survey.
Trends in Gang Activity
In 2012, gangs were active in slightly less than 30 percent
of the responding jurisdictions. This estimate has declined
slightly over the past 4 consecutive years and is at the lowest
point in nearly a decade. The decline from 2011 to 2012
can be almost solely attributed to the drop in smaller cities,
where gang prevalence has decreased nearly 10 percentage
points since 2010. Across jurisdiction types, prevalence rates
of gang activity followed a marked decline in the late 1990s,
increased in the early 2000s, and, with the exception of
smaller cities, have generally stabilized in recent years.2
Key Points
Based on law enforcement reports, in 2012--
• Nearly 30 percent of all responding law enforcement
agencies reported gang activity.
• Slightly fewer jurisdictions experienced gang activity than
in 2011 (3,100 versus 3,300).
• Gang activity remained concentrated primarily in urban
areas, with available indicators suggesting this is occurring
even more in recent years.
• Gang-related homicides increased overall nationally,
partly due to increased reporting by agencies.2 Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet
Approximately 85 percent of larger cities, 50 percent of
suburban counties, and 15 percent of rural counties have
reported gang activity in each of the past four surveys. The
greatest change in recent years has occurred in smaller cities,
where the percentage of agencies reporting gang activity has
significantly declined—approximately 25 percent reported
gang activity in 2012, down from 34 percent in 2010. This
is the lowest rate recorded in more than a decade.

The entire article can be accessed at: 
http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248025.pdf

NO ROOM UNDER THE BRIDGE

     As my wife and I drove home from yet another family Christmas gathering, we passed by another gathering. The concrete was crowded under the bridge, homeless folks seem to be multiplying. We even saw a baby carriage underneath the steel girders that span a small section of Michigan Avenue. On the corner was the same guy with a sign asking for money to buy food. All of this is within 2 blocks of Buffalo's City Mission.

     Some folks are hurting and some folks are users - they use other people using poverty as a tool. I know that people have a choice, but that choice may be shrouded in pride and self-pity. Some folks are just too proud to ask for help. Some folks don't know what help is. Poverty, addiction and violence seem to be incubators for the growth of mental deficiency.

     At the root of societal decay can be found a disease called "dad-deficiency." Absentee fathers who purposely avoid their parental responsibilities cause widespread carnage that's generationally contagious. In some jails, there are 3 generations of men - sons, fathers, and grandfathers. Incarceration, poverty, addiction, violence, and low educational achievement are common in homes where the deficit-dad has left his mark of absenteeism.


What can be done to bring healing and prevent further spread of deadbeat dad disease? 

     Teaching leadership beginning in elementary school is an excellent antidote to deficiency on many levels. The most important trait of a leader is self-examination. If your own personal habits are not worthy of replication in another human being, then you need to get rid of those habits. Accepting responsibility for our actions is another hallmark of leadership. Personal accountability extends self-respect as an olive branch of servant-leadership to other people. Recognize your own hunger for a father and feed your hunger by becoming a father. 
Teaching leadership in our schools will raise grades and reduce dad-deficiencies.

"The future will be fed by the hunger we create today."

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

Proverbs 31:8-9
8 Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

It's a season of giving and we are believing in the best for you and your family. If you need some help over the holidays, please call us. We will do our best to help you. 716-830-8240. The link below will take you to our Rubber Chicken Christmas message, enjoy a smile on us!

http://youtu.be/0QodWKtM-VA

JLYASDW
Bob & Linda Kuebler

          The prisoner tried to connect with me via a collect call from the prison cell phone. My phone was off as my wife and I had just finished speaking to some young folks at the Niagara County First Offender Program. We told them about the realities of life behind bars. Maybe the ears of the guy in jail were ringing because I had just spoken about him and that made him call. I hurt when I have a missed call from a prison cell phone. Another Christmas behind bars for an inmate caught up in a web of dishonor.

         The young man has been incarcerated for approximately 5 years and he hasn't had a trial. He was arrested on Federal charges related to alleged gang involvement. I have to admit that kind of ruffles my feathers. The term "gang" can be synonymously used to describe many groups of people.  Folks who are religious or political form their own gangs. Politicians make laws against bullying and yet their political ads are merciless attacks on another person's character. The promulgators of our laws pay no attention to the ambiguities of their actions.

          My mom and dad tried to teach me to "do as I say." That means my actions should match my words. I have to be a doer of my word. Leaders should reflect on their own character before they take action that judges another person's character. How do you prosecute a kid for bullying and yet pay millions for the right to assassinate another person's character? I believe in accountability for our actions and we can't let folks go running around playing their own version of "Bonnie & Clyde." It's time to teach leadership. It's time to teach life skills to our children. Kids who grow up in poverty are more likely to engage in gangster behavior. It's time to teach gangsters how to retire. 

          At Youth With A Purpose, we are impassioned by the plea of a younger generation to live lives of integrity and accountability. They want to be good kids. Our education system is lacking a common core of a leadership foundation. We must give them the social and emotional tools that will enable them to resist the temptations to find honor in a crumbling street code of unethical destruction. 

"LEADERSHIP IS THE TREE FROM WHICH 
THE BRANCHES OF EDUCATION GROW."

We currently have a limited amount of open dates in January, March and April of 2015. If you have a desire to bring the YWAP Leadership Program to your school, community center or church, please call us: 716-830-8240.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.     

YWAP folks were busy delivering Christmas trees, visiting a nursing home and celebrating at a children's breakfast. YWAP kids from 1-93 yr's old - we all shared heart smiles. We hope your day gave your heart something to smile about!!

Caleb's Birthday Celebration with Alpha & Omega 
Rockin' & rappin' & singin' & dancin" - that's the only way you could describe Caleb's Birthday Celebration. We sang a variety of songs including a Christmas song by Dima in his native Russian language. The last song of the afternoon was a never before performed song called "Garbageman." The song invites audience participation and the last verse was belted through the microphone by the birthday boy himself! Thank you Linda Kuebler for these wonderful photos! JLYASDW
 — at Caleb Ritters Birthday Party.