I have been able to stop gang-involved youth from killing each other in three different cities. Boston, Mass. Stockton, CA. and now San Jose, CA. Through collaborations I have been able to work with thousands of high-risk youth. I now run life skills seminars to incarcerated youth.
I have the biggest connection to Martha's Vineyard Island. My family has had property there since the 1930’s. My family and myself spent our summers there, I met my wife there, and all of my closest friends go to the rock for summer vacations. We are going on our fifth generation of family members spending time at Coleman Corners.
I want our justice system needs to be overhauled or just scrapped. I work with way to many ethnic youth who have been charged with felony charges that should have been a misdemeanor or just probation.
Another issue is that of our prison system, and our high rates of unemployment. They go together, when a person is released from prison they cannot find stable employment, mainly because of their criminal record.
Hewitt R. Joyner III, Vice-President of the Joyner Payne Youth Service Agency-Aquarius Project, has 17 years of experience in prevention, intervention and suppression of high-risk gang involved youth. Hewitt has led the nation in youth violence prevention through working with Boston’s Cease-Fire Collaborative, The Peacekeepers in Stockton, CA., and San Jose’s Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force.
Hewitt has spent 10 years as a violence prevention advocate. Collaborating with Boston Public Schools, Police Department, Youth Violence Strike Force, Suffolk County Probation Department, Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, United States Attorney General Office, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to stop gang related homicides in three cities. His understanding of both thug life and regular life, enables him to understand why gang involved youth are violent, and how to teach them none-violent ways to live and how thrive in a regular life.
Among his significant previous positions, Hewitt served as a School-based Streetworker, Program Manager of The Streetworker Program, a Boston Based Gang Violence Prevention Program. Streetworkers collaborated with (Operation Cease-Fire) the above-mentioned groups to stop the juvenile homicides for two & half years, they were called the “Boston Miracle”. Hewitt was the Program Manager for the Peacekeepers program in Stockton, CA., were they dropped the juvenile homicide rate by 85% in one year.
Hewitt R. Joyner III has created the Three C’s life skills project. The Three C’s focuses on critical life skills that teach gang involved/high-risk how to acclimate themselves The American way of life, and how to maintain their identities while staying out of prison.
