Community group New Era Detroit reinforces conflict resolution with children

DETROIT (FOX 2) - If it’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men, then New Era Detroit is getting into the construction business.

The grassroots community organizing group is zeroing in on kids with its conflict resolution program hoping to give them the tools to squelch squabbles before they escalate into beefs and bloodshed.

"To see kids, you know, kids, children out here being so reckless, we have to really program them to understand, consequences first and foremost, and then understanding composure," said Zeek Williams.

New Era Detroit spent a day working with students at John R. King Academy recently.

Williams, it's founder, says conflict resolution will be one of their top priorities over the next decade.

"One of the biggest problems in our community is wanting a quick answer, a quick fix, a quick way out," Williams said. "And the reality is there’s no quick fix. it took decades and decades for us to be in this situation now, so it’s going to take time to get us out of this situation."

And technology is a part of it. Police, psychologists, and activists alike have all noted the role social media often plays in spats that can turn into violence. The kind that took the lives of 14-year-old Joseph Nankervis and 15-year-old Robert Harris.

"The boy (who) shot my son is 15 years old, the same age as my son," Harris' mother told FOX 2 at the time. "He didn’t want to throw up (fists), but you picked up a gun."

New Era says it’s already working with several schools and is eager to partner with Detroit Public Schools Community District to implement programs throughout the district, even so, Zeek says they and other stakeholders can only do so much—and the real work starts at home.

"Parents we really have to look ourselves in the mirror and say, 'I have to do more so that my son, my daughter, can grow up with a better mindset and better mentality so we won’t be seeing these stories on the news where a 13 to 14-year-old just robbed somebody or a 16-year-old did a mass shooting."

For more about New Era Detroit, the website is HERE,  Instagram page is HERE, and Facebook page is HERE.