BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Gun violence impacts Buffalo's inner-city, with a direct effect on those living in the communities with higher levels of violence. But Back to Basics Outreach Ministry and the Buffalo Peacemakers have programs helping at-risk youth stay out of trouble.
I spoke to two brothers who have been positively impacted by one of those programs.
I met with 20-year-old Amariyoa and his brother, 17-year-old Kamari, at one of the Back to Basics locations on Buffalo's East Side. It’s where these two young men openly shared their stories of participating in a program called H.E.A.T. – it stands for Health, Empowerment, Attitude and Teamwork.
“It gave me something to do, like, to keep me out of trouble, because, like, if you busy, you don't have time to do other stuff,” said Karmari.
“Whenever I came to the program, I would forget about everything, you know, let the program be my spot, be my happiness and my comfort when I feel like I want to, you know, have a problem,” said Amariyoa.
The program brings at-risk city youth together for fun and conversations to help them learn to avoid violence, gangs and guns.
"It's situations that come up – they’re scared, they shoot off an impulse," described Amariyoa. "There’s no thinking in certain situations, because if there was, we wouldn't have kids gone. We wouldn't have babies gone. We wouldn't have mothers losing their sons every single day, no matter what, not even that you had a problem, just because you were in their place at the wrong time."
"Is it so easy to get a gun?” I asked.
“You would think they were handing out gum for how easy it is,” replied Amariyoa.
"I feel like a lot of stuff is easy access, like a lot of bad things, is easy access to young people,” Kamari responded.
"You could get shot for looking at somebody wrong just because of how they feel inside,” explained Amariyoa.
The two young men have been hired to work in the H.E.A.T program to help other at-risk youth.
"When you walk through that door, you with us, once I got my hoodie on – I’m here to work. I’m here to do my job to make sure you go home the same way you came in,” Amariyoa said.
“We go help the community out, clean. We go talk like, talk to talk to our people,” said Kamari.
The brothers tell me their best advice to at-risk youth is to keep busy and if you need help, just ask.
