The human heartbeat is a fascinating feature of our anatomical make-up. Its rhythmic thump, thump, thump echoes in the quickened footsteps of pedestrians on cracked concrete and basketballs bouncing on playground asphalt.
Its frantic pounding and sudden lull, signifying the end, resonates through space creating yet another physical void as evidenced by the 34 homicides Indianapolis has had since the beginning of 2014.
According to medical author Regina Avraham, one single heartbeat produces enough energy in a lifetime to drive a truck to the moon and back. But what happens to a heartbeat destroyed, does its energy shrivel up and disappear? In the case of a community’s heartbeat the answer, according to activist Ameena Matthews, is resuscitation.
“Every community has a different heartbeat and that comes from the elders,” said Matthews. “It’s (involvement of elders) huge, it has to be. If you don’t involve the community in the education of our young people, they’re not going to have any sense of direction. They’re just going to be renegades.”
She also stressed the importance of having “credible messengers” involved in outreach efforts.
Matthews, who was featured in the award-winning 2011 documentary “The Interrupters,” led a community meeting recently at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School. The meeting focused on training neighborhood outreach workers and violence interrupters. In the spirit of true interaction, Matthews ditched the formality of a microphone and podium in favor of moving about the room speaking with each individual face-to-face. As a senior violence interventionist who has dispelled numerous deadly feuds in her native Englewood, Chicago, she was right in her element.
The event, hosted by the Forest Manor Multi-Service Center, was well attended by community leaders and neighborhood residents eager to learn more about the creation and implementation of a five-year crime prevention plan. The plan, facilitated by local consulting firm Engaging Solutions, focuses on four key goals: suppression, community mobilization, advocacy and awareness, intervention and prevention.
Matthews spoke on the necessity of having readily available resources. She defined resources as the “key component of outreach.” She said Englewood and Indianapolis have a lot in common when it comes to the scarcity of basic necessities such as quality education, easily accessible healthy food choices, and rehabilitation for those who have been incarcerated.
In her opinion, violence is the end result of not having enough resources to go around. “Everybody is trying to eat,” she said. “But we’re all eating off this little saucer and what happens when someone bumps the other out of the way?”
Tammy Butler Robinson of Engaging Solutions, shared that youth employment is an issue that will be addressed as a part of the five-year prevention and reduction plan.
While answering audience questions on the topic of issues and solutions, Matthews shared her viewpoints on the reality of the situation of violence. “The reality is that, (young people) don’t really want to die. They don’t want to shoot,” said Matthews.
She went on to tell a story about a young man who saw her intervening as a way out of his decision to become involved in a potentially violent exchange. That particular young man, like many others, saw Matthews and her group as buffers sent to shield them from the hopelessness that so easily pervades one’s thinking, especially when confronted with the unique challenges an impoverished existence provides. “It’s not as if our young people have given up hope so we shouldn’t lose hope in them,” she said.
Regina Marsh, CEO of Forest Manor, related those thoughts as well. “I’m calling for all people to become involved, even those still in the street,” said Marsh. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting on to stop this.”
For more information on the citywide crime prevention efforts, visit fmmsc.org.
