I don't know. I 141 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 just started in September. I'm supposed to be getting out in June.
And you were doing well at Elverson, you were doing well at the military academy?
I mean, it goes back to some of the rules and regulations that we follow relative to sentencing. I mean, it's a five-year mandatory minimum with a gun. It's an immediate mandatory expulsion. I mean, when you have a young man who is getting A's and B's, I'd recognize he'd have to deal with his issue and stand up for what he did, but to be in CEP after that makes -- there's no real benefit long term to that, because CEP --
No. You're right. CEP is not a situation where he can thrive from. However, because he was doing well in the military academy, he's made the honor roll already.
Yes. So he's maintaining his ability to do what he needs to do, and it's going to make him eligible for other high schools. Now, he went to the High School Expo and applied for other high schools. Now, when he's finished the 180 days that he's required to do, you know, he's eligible to reenter the School District of Philadelphia high schools.
What's the environment like? What's your experience there every day? What's it like?
It's like basically nothing to me. Like when I go there, I just do me and I leave.
Just do 143 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 your work and you're on your way out of there. Now, when you're done school, you attend the program?
So you have homework help and computer access and things like while you're there?
Yes, at the program. Well, it seems like you kind of dodged the problem and are on your way back to keeping it together and doing well, either at the military school or someplace else. Do you have interest in the 144 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 military or you just signed up for that school because what reason? Did you have --
I just feel as though it was more like discipline for me, like keeping me out of trouble. That's why I applied for there.
Do you have an interest in the military or you just went there for the discipline?
Well, good luck. I hope you get back into wherever you want to go. That's a great career. I would look at the Navy right now as opposed to some of the other branches until we get out of this mess, until we're out of this mess in Iraq. But good luck. Nice meeting you.
Good afternoon. My name is Rita Wheelings. I work for 145 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 PAAN as an AVRP youth worker. These are two of my students that I'm very proud of. I have three, but the third is sitting behind me. But these two young ladies here have a lot of potential. I enjoy working with them. I also do home visits. I've watched them make remarkable progress. The one on the far end will tell you her story and the progress that she has made in this program as well as changing in behaviors. That was the reason why she ended up in the program. I'm not even going into the history of anything else. I just want you to listen to these two young ladies.
Quadirah Lott, Q-U-A-D-I-R-A-H, L-O-T-T. I got sent here for aggravated assault. Me and Mika right here, we was in the store and -- what store?
No. I 146 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 didn't ask you, but you can tell us if you want.
A clothing store. We was in the store and the lady was arguing -- her and Mika had a conflict, so I went over there to see what all the commotion was about. When I went over there, them two was fighting. So I tried to break it up. Someone was swinging on me, so me and the other lady started fighting. And we got locked up that day and I got sent here. But I got out of AVRP because of good behavior. And what I really wanted to talk about was the school I go to, CEP. I just found out yesterday that you can't graduate from that school. So like if I stayed there until 12th grade, I can't graduate. And I don't want to be in there. I want to get out. I want to go to a graduation. I want to have a prom. We can't have any of that in that school, and they just making this rule this year. And he said like you only got to do 182 147 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 days. They tell you that, but it's a small percentage that he going to get out in June, because they like -- it's real -- they don't tell you that they're real strict, but they're real strict. Like the littlest thing, they make you stay in there for a whole other year. And now I can't -- like they trying to say that you can't graduate from that school. So I'm just trying to get out of that school and do the best that I can. But it's a lot of distractions in that school, like everybody trying to be tough, everybody trying to prove a point. So I'm just trying to get out.
No; Westminster, 43rd and Westminster. I go there because, again, when I went to Vare, I was fighting.
So you 148 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 had a lot of fights and they sent you to CEP?
No. I had one fight and they sent me to CEP. I had one fight in the school and they sent me to CEP.
I've been there ever since 7th grade. I'm in the 9th right now.
I went to CEP. I went to the one in Texas before they opened any of them here in Philadelphia. Some of us went down there to take a look at the model. That's state funded. The state reps actually wanted that program here in Philly. I'm surprised that you're still there after two years.
The last gentleman that testified said it was 180 149 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 days.
My name is Mika Gilbert, M-I-K-A, G-I-L-B-E-R-T. You have to be there, behave and be learning, but some people, like my friend Champell, she been there for four years and she come to school every single day and she still hasn't been out. I got there January 3rd and I come to school every day. I got a 96.8 attendance. I'm on honor roll, and I got -- my behavior is 2's and I still think I'm not going to get out by February.
You go to 150 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 CEP also?
Okay. I don't know. We have to check that, because I just didn't think anybody would be in CEP for four years. You said you have a friend that's been there for four years?
And I think last year one of the schools did do something, because someone from there called me and asked me to help them. It has something to do with senior activities, because I thought -- did Front Street have their first graduation last year?
I don't know if 151 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 it was their first, but they did have a graduation and they did have a prom. But they got together with Allegheny CEP.
Yeah, because you can't graduate from that school. They're not letting nobody graduate or nothing, no proms, no nothing. And that's what like I go to school for, to graduate.
Do you mind me asking what you want to do when you get out of school?
I want to be a 152 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 lawyer.
Good. All right. Great. Because sometimes I ask my kids and they go, I don't know. I don't know what I want to do. At least you guys have some idea what you want to do. So good luck.
And she hasn't had a chance to tell her story. So this is Mika Gilbert.
Mika, M-I-K-A. She told the story already. Aggravated assault. We was in the store and the lady put her hands in my face, and I hit her and we started fighting.
I got out of AVRP for good behavior, though. 153 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
But you just come back because you like it so much, don't you?
The reason why she's still -- she's discharged. She was discharged for good behavior. So she has no attachment to AVRP. However, she and I have stayed in contact with each other. And there's no sense in having a child in the program just because they completed it, you leave them alone and you don't check on them. So she and I formed a relationship. Matter of fact, in order to come here today, she spent a night with me. So we at AVRP, we look at our students as a part of our family. So they're not even students. I don't even classify them as students. They're part of my family. So as a whole and as usual, we come in contact with each other. I call them up. I go to their schools. I check on them. 154 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 I have another lady behind me, Ms. Lavello, who was a little bit shy. But these are my children. They're an extension of myself. So it's just more than a program. It's trying to really, really help these young ladies and to watch them grow and to mature and to see the potential that they have, because as you can see, they speak very well, and her wish is -- she really wanted to come, Councilman Miller, for you to get her out of CEP. She said, I'm going and I want to speak to her because I want her to get me out of CEP. She's actually an A, B student. So is she.
I don't want to know your address, but where do you live?
Both of them live in South Philly. 155 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
Okay. Fine. I'd be happy to have you talk to my staff, too. I'm an at-large member, but I live in South Philly, so it's kind of like we're all --
I live at 11th Street, 11th and Tasker. Where are you guys at?
Well, I'll tell you what, when you leave here, if you want to go to my office and see Wilhelmina, she'll get all your information. We'll at least check out 156 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 what's going on. Okay?
My name is Martez Cooper, C-O-O-P-E-R, with the CRP Program, Children Rights, founder, and I'm here to speak a little bit of my mind about what I heard today and really what I know about the violence that is going on across the city with our juveniles. And me being a father and a grandfather and running the CRP program, there's a lot of things that's being brought to my attention on the level of violence, end the violence, where I don't think it was really touched on today at all on a large scale as far as the games, the video games. It's like unimaginably a part of 157 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 the problem, and I don't understand with so many professional people in America, period, as far as the psychiatrists and the professors at the colleges, black colleges and so on, with the studies that's coming out, I don't understand why these games has not really been brought to the forefront. It's a very bad, bad problem with the games. Of course, I know that you know that the case of the young man in -- Swayneiffer (ph) Jefferson who threw his baby and killed his baby over the games not too long ago, maybe like two months ago when the baby got tangled up in the cord and he jumped up and beat her to death. There is major cases going on across the country, even on the Supreme Court level, where people have took lawsuits out on these game providers, and I think that it really should be looked at a little more strongly in Philadelphia.
Why do 158 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you call them video gangs? What is that?
My name is Abdul Muhammad. What he's trying to say is basically like you got to understand, 50 Cent's game, you get points for selling crack, you get points for killing people. Grand Theft Auto. They have games out there that basically they train the U.S. Army and the Navy to actually kill people with that our children have right here and now. And it's not only the games, it's the entertainment industry, it's the rappers. You know, it's the families not 159 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 having proper guidance from your mother and your father. It's a whole situation that works in the profit of big business at the loss of basic poor people here in America. And it's like people know that, when you think about anything, that poverty breeds crime. And when you put a gun in somebody's hand and when you put crack in their hand and you actually solidify it and you promote it, it's saying, look, it's cool to go kill somebody. It's saying, look, it's cool to sell drugs. And it's not cool to actually not think that way. That's what it's saying to our youth. It's a basic conspiracy. I am a youth, and this man right here basically took me from being at risk to being an influence to other younger adults, because if I didn't have him, my father, Abdul Azim Muhammad, which was the Director of the Brewerytown CDC, along with Darrell Clarke, basically, you know, he left me astray. 160 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 I didn't have anything. And he left --
And then we hear Darrell Clarke and Azim Muhammad write an article that --
Excuse me. Excuse me. We didn't come here to -- I know Azim and --
Okay. But I'm just saying but then when we have them to make statements in the paper, not only them -- and we didn't come here to bash them neither, but when we have them to make statements in the paper as of what they do for the youths in the City of Philadelphia, that's a disgrace to even sit there and even say anything like that.
Because when Azim Muhammad, for one, got his own kids that he don't even take care of.
I don't think you stated your name for the record, did you, Azim's son? 161 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
For the record, I'm his brother, Azim's brother. Same mother, same father. I'm also on the CDC, Brewerytown, Secretary, Martez Cooper. But I also run the children's program besides that. We're not going to get into that. This is about kids. And I wonder why --
-- it wasn't more publicized about this meeting, you know, and other kids like where we could have brought in other kids from the streets. It was like programs that was brought into this situation.
I don't understand 162 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 that.
Well, I'm glad you did see it on the news, and other people probably saw it, too. Like I said before, this is not the first and it won't -- it is the first, but it won't be the last. We will have plenty of opportunity for anybody that wants to come and talk to be able to do that. So now that we know who you are and we can get your name and number so that when we have our next hearing. But it is on TV. City Council is required by law to do public advertising of public hearings. So it's been in the newspaper. My office, we didn't do a personal mailing to lots of groups because we knew it just wouldn't be that kind of time, but we did reach out to AVRP, we reached out to PAAN, we reached out to Integrated Town Watch, we reached out to Don't Fall Down 163 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 in the Hood. And those are the only groups we actually reached out to.
Well, the reason why I said that was because I have been trying my best to, you know, present not a plan and not just about the violence, because we all know about the violence, and we could go over and over and over and over again, but we still going to have more murders and we still going to have more guns on the streets, and we all know where they coming from. And for everybody to sit around and just -- it really disgusts me when grown people sit around and just act as though that we got to ask these questions from these kids that they really answer theyself. And then on top of that, like when are we going to get to the solutions? If the city can't handle the violence that's going on, when are we going to shut the city down and maybe call in the National Guards or whatever? This is ridiculous how many murders that we have this year 164 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 alone already. We have six murders in four hours in one day, and it's got worser ever since then. When do it stop? You know what I'm saying? Where do it stop? And this is what we saying in our communities and every community across the city, because we work with the whole city. It should not just be one program director to one -- this is a major problem that we talking about, our kids.
And we're losing them. I mean, the schools is like hell, and we know this. And there's no money going towards nothing that's helping our youth, and, therefore, other programs that come in and other people to use the pain of the youth that's dying across our city and come out and make statements about our community, it got to stop, because we're not going to stop until it 165 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 do stop. And if the city -- and if the President of the United States can't stop it, I think that the people are going to have to stop it theyself. And that's the only reason why the democrats is in there now, is because the people have to come out and put some type of stop to what's going on in the White House. And it's trickling down into our local government, and it's bad, and we not having it no 12 more. We not going to sit and just be walked around and act like we going to do something and everybody going to get this and they going to walk away with this money and this program walk away with this money and all these officials or whoever. I don't want to bash nobody, because that's not what it's about. We already got the Mayor and the District Attorney beefing at each other like gangster rappers, so I'm not going to sit here and do that. But we know what's going on, and it's bad, and it's not 166 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 stopping. The people are screaming. They can't even come out of their house. There's a rape on one end of my block, there's a rape on the other end of my block. I can't walk to the Chinese store. My kids can't walk to the Chinese store. When they do and I take them around there, the Chinese store sells them everything that they need. When they was talking about the "Stop Snitching" T-shirts was the problem in the city, the Chinese was selling them. Everybody know where 5th Street at, 5th and -- they selling them all up and down there. But that's not the problem. The T-shirts don't kill people. People kill people. And if we keep going around the problem and not dealing with it by playing games with these little programs, you see what I'm saying -- yeah, they might help some youths. We got thousands of youths out here that's not eating at all, don't even have heat in they house. 167 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 You know what I'm saying? And how far do we go with this? We need to shut these game stops down, because they're just as bad as crack houses. That's what I came here to say. We definitely need to shut them down.
Game, game, game, game stops. Stop and go's, game stops, they all the same. And that's where the violence is coming from. If everybody acted in this city and this country acted like they don't know, I'm going straight to Congress with it. We need to stop these games. The games is programming our kids. If the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marines is using the games to train the soldiers to kill, what are they doing to our kids? Why do we have 400 168 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 murders this year and New York had 600? That's a thousand murders in two cities. How many other cities and counties and states do we have across this country? Clevo and Dillon from the church called Mafia in Colorado played the games, and we all know about the games. But the corporations is running our city and not our city officials, and that's how we look at it. The corporation has got the upper hand. Nobody is saying nothing to them at all. We know where the guns is coming straight of Colosimo's right there on -- right here. It hardly needs a license. You go to any gun show and get any gun you want, AK 47's or whatever. And they there. Every kid got a gun almost. Every other kid got a gun. I'm going to say that much. Trust me. And if ya'll don't believe it, I can show it to you. That's where we at. It's not about no games no more. We got to really deal with this problem. And if the city 169 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 can't deal with it, then we think that ya'll should call in the National Guard and shut the city down. The FBI just said yesterday that Philadelphia is one of the worst cities for violence and told the black men to watch their back. This is from the FBI.
We didn't hear from the President because he's not going to say nothing.
He's busy cutting everything that we need to be able to handle this problem. And if ya'll don't handle him, we're going to handle him, too. And we are the people.
I have something 170 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 to say, though. Basically my point is this: I have no faith -- no disrespect to anybody up here right now, but I have no faith in you. One thing, because my father is connected with this whole City Council, this whole city government up to Governor Rendell. And basically I've seen my father -- I had a conversation with him talking about taking neighborhoods. Ya'll don't want to stop the violence, because meanwhile while the violence is going on, our neighborhoods are getting taken away from us. It's not just in Philadelphia; all across America. This is --
This is a 171 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 situation that's been influenced. And I know you want to say thank you. I know you want to say --
No. I'm not saying that. This is not an opportunity nor a forum to come and talk about your dad. Now, if you guys have issues --
-- that's okay, but today we want to hear from young people. We want to ask their questions.
But this 172 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 is not an opportunity for that.
Because 7 you took up all the time. How about 8 that? 9
It doesn't fit 14 that doctrine. And I'm a youth who can 15 see. I'm a youth that knows this. Just 16 like Councilman Kenney said, that I'm 17 glad you changed because you decided not 18 to carry guns no more, it was no -- it's 19 no problem with none of these youths. It's a problem with ya'll, the parents, the adults, who are not doing anything about this situation right here and now. And I know that, because I am a youth who lived through this, who has been on the streets, who has been out there and had 173 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 no guidance, from not my father, not my mother, not from any adults in school. They didn't care. They just wanted to kick me out.
It's a widespread epidemic, because this is the problem. This is not a problem with all of America. That is a problem mainly with black and brown youths. And the reason why it's not stopping, because it is because of black and brown youth. They don't want it to stop. They want to influence this situation. They don't want black and brown youth to become anything. Where these guns coming from, where are these drugs coming from? During prohibition you had illegal removal of alcohol. They stopped 174 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 it because the majority of the people committing those crimes were white. They're not legalizing drugs. They're not. Because we're the ones dying over it and going to jail over them. No one cares.
The solutions that we got is to shut down the game stops, at least start working on looking at your wars, the fact of the games being a problem. Because until you accept that as a problem, it will never even be looked at, and in the mean time, in the between time, we're training serial killers, we're training child molesters. And that's why you have so many rapes. How much have the rapes went up in Pennsylvania in the last few months? They are raping people on the games.
We have to wrap this up. We have a couple more people to testify. 175 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
I have a meeting that I have to get to. Ma'am, do you want to testify there?
We have to actually sit down and have a meeting where we can come in with our package and bring a solution.
You could have brought a package in today. You could have left it today.
Well, like I said, I seen it on the news, so I wasn't really aware of it today.
We'll talk to you after -- 176 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971
The solution lies within the black community being independent and not being exploited. That's the bottom line. That's the solution.
Okay. Thank you. Mr. Johnson and, ma'am, do you want to testify?
Madam Chair, I thank you kindly for this opportunity and for your colleagues. My name is Carin Hall. That's C-A-R-I-N. I'm from the Third Ward, 21st Division, and like many here, I was not aware or privileged to be contacted in advance. I'm here today to represent several elements in brief. One, a school 177 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 teacher who could not be here by the name of Bernard Miller started up a program called "No Gun Play" for radio shows, and last year in his first effort with "No 6 Gun Play" request weekends for broadcasters, when he went to Clear Channel, he was told, Who's supporting your "No Gun Play" petition? And he didn't have anyone. So I came along with three organizations that I run. I have a Philadelphia Think Tank. I have another group of constituents concerned about violence that meets every Sunday afternoon for two and a half hours, the telephone bridge conference calls and in person at Union 332 International. And I have another group that works diligently with new directions for people who have had social barriers who did not receive their education. While the focus may be on youth, we have a population who did not receive the education that you and I may be privileged to. Today I come forward to you to 178 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 announce officially that "No Gun Play" weekend must be enforced by you and your colleagues. In fact, the petition -- because I did not have a chance to do a formal package, I'm just going to leave you the press release that Bernard Miller had put together. He's working at the School District of Philadelphia as a substitute teacher. We know that there are social barriers and economic barriers that keep us in the position that we're in, but this last witness was true, we do need to look at games and media, the media position when it comes to corporations. C. Delores Tucker died with this in mind and it's incumbent on us to continue: We want to build citizens, not criminals. Thank you.
Thank you. You can just bring it up here if you want. Thank you.
Hello, 179 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Councilwoman.
I'm sorry to hold you up. I know you have a lot of important things to do.
For the record, my name is Stephen Johnson, Jr. I'm currently the Assistant Sergeant-At-Arms for City Council. This is a very sensitive topic to me and this is the only reason why I actually came up here to speak. First of all, I would like to say that my grandfather, who is the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Sylvester Johnson, has done numerous things for the community as far as outreach programs to the youth, and all I can say is, I think we need to have a liaison between the police and the youth, someone, even myself, I will say. I'm 180 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 years old. I'm at the age where I can communicate with adults and also youth. I am hip hop. I have numerous accolades, and I don't really want to get into that, but I have one thing to say about that. Hip hop culture is not a criminal culture. I know a lot of people look at us as being hip hop and being criminals. They see us with the baggy pants, hat turned to the back and probably look at us as, you know, criminals, but it's not even like that. I think that we need to embrace hip hop's youth, because the youth is our future. We need to have, I believe, a ten-point plan with the leaders of hip hop and some of the elected officials so we both can get on the same plan, ten points for the leaders of hip hop and elected officials. Elected officials can say, Well, these are ten things that I can do or we can do in order to better the communication and better the lives of our youth in the community, and also the 181 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 leaders of hip hop can say, Well, these are ten things that we can do that can make your job much more easier. I have an artist in mind, KRS-1, who is one of the leaders of hip hop. I also believe that we need to have more funds for programs that are out there. Also, we need to have more access to information. I know we have our Daily News, we have Channel 10 or 6 or whatever, but we need another way in order to communicate to get this message out there. I know the politicians, they can -- when it's time for election time, they put a lot of things in the mail and send those packages off in order to get the information what they need for votes, petitions and anything. I think we need to do something for the youth as far as getting involved and getting that out there, the message out there. I believe we need more hip hop activities. There's an emcee right now that is nationally known. His name is 182 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. " Well, I don't believe hip hop is dead. I believe hip hop is actually calling out to survive, and I believe that some of these officials might be able to help us do that by giving us more free concerts. That might be an avenue or something that you might look into, free concert for the youth. Also, they say that we're a criminal culture, but our culture is based on these four principles, which is peace, love, unity and having fun. That's basically what we're about. I'm not up here speaking for anybody else, but I am speaking for myself when I say that. Rap is something that you do and hip hop is something that you live, and I am a product of hip hop. I'm a member of an organization called the Temple of Hip Hop. org that anybody can get information. 183 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 Also, my own organization that I'm currently starting is called the Hip Hop League of Excellence, and that is going to be a Philly-based organization to try to get some of these youth off the streets and to make them more aware of certain things that's going on in the community. I know that a lot of people out here that don't have money, they don't have jobs, they don't have opportunities, but there are some things that they can do to make themselves more productive in this world. I myself have been homeless. I've lived in the streets of Los Angeles trying to pursue my dream and to live hip hop, and it was one thing that I've done. When I was homeless, what I did was, I sold my own CDs.
I think that more people need to have that information or need to know how to do that, how to walk up to someone and how to create a business opportunity. Because when you sell a CD, you're selling your music, 184 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 you're promoting your music, you're making a connection with someone and you're also getting money in your pocket. Now, if we can have an actual program, even a DVD, to show youth how to do that, that can be very lucrative for that individual and people to come. I know, like I said, time is of the essence. I have my co-workers looking at me like, Mr. Johnson, can you please stop talking right now, and I know everybody wants to go home, but like I said, this is a very sensitive topic to me, and I thank you for your time and thank you for everything that you've done, Ms. Reed, for the community. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for coming in. Are you with the Archye?
Yes, IDAAY, right. He's the Chair of the board. 185 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 You testified. You have something else to say?
Yeah, just less than two minutes. One of the things I wanted to bring out is, a lot of talk was about the recreation centers. I'm actually down at the recreation centers, some of them, and we need them to be upgraded. I mean, not just the security and stuff, but they need to be upgraded. There are rats and mice running around in there, stuff like that. So if you're going to invest in it, you got to invest in those, too. The other thing is the President, I need to say, is -- you need to -- I mean, you always can come down, talk to the youth. No better way than listening to them in their own environment and seeing that their parents are on drugs and things like that and they're selling drugs and the reality of what's going on. And the last thing is, as IDAAY 186 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 President, the way that the funds come down, talk to Archye about what we can do, because a lot of the stuff that we're growing in, you got like -- the Institute of the Development of the African American Youth is serving all the youth throughout the city, and it's just taking everything that we can to keep it running. And a lot of the contracts come in a lot slower. I know you guys are doing all that you can, but when those contracts don't come in, it's real people who devote their lives that I have to look in the eye and go, I can't pay you this week, I got to wait until next week. So you can probably talk to Archye about what we can do about shoring up the contracts, making sure that they get -- once we submit them, that they get it in time, because I'm sitting here right in front of it. So that's all I wanted to say. Some of the things I can talk to you about. I'm in the personal level, if you 187 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 want to as well.
All right. Well, as I stated before, this was the first but it won't be the last hearing or opportunity for people to talk. There were some people who said they didn't know. This was not a hearing to hear about a whole lot of programs all over again. This was a hearing to hear from our children. And that's what we want to do. We want to personally come down to the program and talk to the children more. The City of Philadelphia and many rec centers need additional work, and we understand that. I can tell you all the rec centers in my district that need work. I'm not familiar with a lot of those that was mentioned today, but I guess if we had a wish, if we had a dream, one would be to have the money to do all that we could do to get these rec centers up.
And I know the 188 1/30/07 - PUBLIC SAFETY - RES. 060971 youth that talked today, and this was a great start. We thank you for it, but there's nothing like seeing them in their own environment and their own clothes and stuff like that, and we have an open invitation to visit any of our programs, sit down and listen to what they are. They're able to free themselves up a little bit more and you will actually get to see them. So we just extend --
We probably understand a lot more about the environment that these children live in than you realize. I don't live in some little --