I’ve worked with StreetLeaders for over 4 years, but their insight and stories never cease to amaze me. That’s why I jumped at the chance to partner with Theatre Nemours downtown. I went to a screening of “The Interrupters, ” an amazing film about an organization trying to fight violence in Chicago. After the film I said to myself, “if they ever show this again, we ought to have a panel so our teens can share about the violence in our city.” Sure enough, we got our chance!
As the teens shared about the numbness they feel toward shootings and their hopes that they are really making a difference, the audience listened and was encouraged. You see, there are many
people who are concerned about Wilmington, and to them these teens offer a bit of hope in a dark place. The audience shared words of encouragement to our teens and told them to keep up their challenging, but life-changing work. Our teens compared themselves to “The Interrupters,” as interrupters in between the children and the streets. I hope they truly see themselves as interrupters between the children and drugs, violence, hopelessness, dropping out, the wrong crowd, and low expectations.