My heart goes out to victims of Mass Shootings but what about the mass killings in the Hood

This week another school shooting happened. They were saying there were 30 in the past 45 days. My heart goes out to the families. The people in the hood unlike the rest of America know we don't ask "Why?" We know there is no answer and we have learned to face facts that some people are just "Rotten to the Core" as my mother used to say and there ain't nothing you can do to prevent this. No amount of blaming guns and the Mentally Ill is going to change that.

Every time there is two things people say is the gun debate then the Mental illness. First of all most homicides are committed by illegal guns. They beg or yell at the President like he can help. He can not prevent this and neither can congress. Passing new laws won't stop it because someone bent on killing a massive homicide will not care about obtaining a legal weapon.

The killer is Mentally ill. That makes me so mad. You stigimize this group as a person who works with these folks its really annoying. Medication is really effective treating mental illness. You might have spent an hour talking to a schizophrenic and not even know it.

Losing a child is heart wrenching no matter what the cause, homicide is However, worse because someone stole your child. I'm sure for those parents the non stop news coverage and your child is now a victim in another mass or school shooting. They also know that when the next mass shooting occurs the media will leave them alone with their grief. The country will move on but those families will be forever be destroyed. The Hood knows this because the hood is an expert at burying our young. Now if the media would cover Urban Violence the way they cover Mass shooting s maybe it would be better.

Allegheny County Jail strip searches inmates after visits from lawyers and Therapists.

Allegheny County Jail is one of the worst jails in the Country. As most of the inmates in this jail have NOT been convicted of crimes, they sure violate the rights of all inmates.

I am a Mental Health worker, who frequently get our Consumers from the Allegheny County jail I have had several of them state that while they were incarcerated they did not receive medication for their mental illness and were on the Psyche floor. Sometimes they did not receive meds for a week. Most of these men are not hardened criminals they are Vagrants or other petty crimes. They also have not been convicted.

My nephew was an inmate in Protective Custody because the Ayran Nation targeted him with violence. One day another inmate in protective Custody, charged with Homicide stabbed my nephew seven times including in the face.  Instead of medical treatment he was thrown in the hole despite the fact that my nephew wasn't fighting he was attacked. My nephew sued the jail and they removed him from Protective Custody putting his life in danger. My nephew did not back down and obtained an attorney.  He is currently serving a harsh sentence for a crime he did not commit. He actually is safer where he is than he was in the County jail.

Today, I found another article from a local paper, about the jail strip searching women after returning from seeing their doctors and therapists because according to the Criminals who run and work at the jail they want to prevent drugs from coming in. This makes no sense to me. Do they believe lawyers would be stupid enough to risk their careers to sneak inmates drugs. They haven't stopped there and now strip search inmates who are in therapy. Again, do you really believe Therapists would risk their careers for drugs. I do not buy that anymore than I buy Lawyers ate doing it. You can read the story here http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/02/05/Allegheny-County-Jail-strip-searches-contraband-impede-therapy-with-inmates-sexual-assault/stories/201802050086.

This jail needs the County to straighten up this place and stop violating people's rights.  Everyone has rights and Convicted or not no one has the right to not be abused and have their rights violated.

Allegheny County Jail needs to fix its broken system.

What the Hood Needs Community Elders

I am a Community Elder for my Hood. I lived for 53 years and I still live in 15104 my hood.

Our young people have lost direction and because they grew up in a war zone violence has become a way of life. Prison and jail are considered cool and instead of college many aspire to "catch a Case". They are young so they do not realize this decision can ruin their lives completely. They do not realize that most employers shy away from Convicted Felons even if they did their time.  They will struggle with money for the rest of their lives or end up behind bars.

Community Elders, both male and female, must stick our noses into other people's business and tell the youth the truth that their lives not only matter but that they are very important. We must educate a kid that refuses to attend school that school is more likely to get you out of the hood than Prison. Employers hire those that go to school and college can be possible if they work hard enough or even if they graduate they will still do better than refusing to go to school or not doing anything when you attend. We have to start telling ourselves that Education is FOR us too.

The entire Hood is sick of the Violence and drugs destroying our Hoods and its up to us to end it. We have to change the way we live. We have to learn how to control our temper. I still struggle with that. We need to stop blaming others for our mistakes and learn.

The Violence in our communities have nothing to do with race as generational poor whites are also imprisoned in massive numbers in fact, poor White men are the majority of Prisoners. Do not let the media's lies make you believe it's Minorities and think If its only Minorities in Prison than why do they have so many prisons in Maine or North Dakota. They are both white states and I'm sure the entire 3% of minorities are not ALL in Prison.

We need to get morality back. Although most of the Community Elders have never married ourselves. We have learned that marriage is the best. The middle class of all races did not abandon marriage only the poor. Although our young people are getting married more there are to many single couples.

I actually believe that we need to get back with God. I, myself, found Jesus but if Allah keeps you on the straight and narrow then I'm fine with that.

As the Elders we must listen to all of our Youth and withhold judgement. We need them to come to us and tell us how angry they get and advise them that violence causes more problems than they solve. We have to also stop ourselves from doing it.

We need to start programs that gives teenagers jobs and after school programs for younger kids. We have to keep our babies off the streets and our teenagers with legitimate money in their pocket because a kid with his own money won't sell drugs.

We have to build a Relationship with the police and get rid of the no snitching. We need to encourage the police to participate in Community events and become partners with them.

Last we need to learn to love and respect each other. We are all in this together. Community Elders need to lead the way.