Springdale program targets gang problems

SPRINGDALE -- Two men plan to create an organization that will help with gang prevention and intervention in Springdale.

Marcus Carruthers, a minister, and Randall Godinet, who moved to Springdale in 2013, plan to ask for nonprofit status for the organization, called 1NWA.

Carruthers does volunteer work with youth at the Washington County jail and the Boys and Girls Club of Fayetteville, he said. Godinet was executive director at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oceanside, Calif., and worked with gangs in that area from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, he said.

The group will move into an office at Springdale Municipal Airport as soon as renovations are complete. The City Council approved spending $9,950 to finish construction on the interior of an office at the airport to accommodate the group. The Springdale Airport Commission has agreed to allow the city to use the office for 2½ years rent-free.

The airport's runway sits just east of the locations of two homicides that police said at the time were gang-related.

A shooting April 11 at 609 Savage St. killed Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, and led to the arrest of four people. On March 13, two people were injured and Fabian Rodriguez, 18, was fatally shot at 32 Applegate Drive. A 17-year-old who was charged as an adult was arrested.

The basis of the 1NWA program is gang prevention and intervention, Carruthers said. It will target youth ages 8 through 18, and it will be free for those who participate.

Mayor Doug Sprouse said Carruthers contacted him last year about starting the program. After the violence this spring, Sprouse said he contacted Carruthers about the idea.

One element of the program will be called character camp, Carruthers said. It will use games and activities to teach lessons about ethics, leadership, respect, teamwork, communication and handling anger, he said.

Another part of the program, leader labs, will focus on participants ages 13 to 18 who will get opportunities to lead activities.

Participants also will have what Carruthers called life maps. A life map will define a child's or teenager's passion and plot a course to achieve goals. For example, Carruthers said, if a high school sophomore wants to become a teacher, he would identify the obstacles and threats to that goal, such as using drugs and going to jail. The map will help participants visualize their future, he said.

Carruthers said he has spoken with other community leaders, such as Jim Rollins, superintendent of the Springdale School District. Rollins said the program can help the community.

It's important to help young people make good decisions and have positive activities to be involved with, Rollins said. He also said it's important to have a caring adult associated with every child.

About 21 people have committed as volunteers, and Carruthers said he will seek volunteer teams from Tyson, J.B. Hunt, Wal-Mart and the University of Arkansas. Volunteers will act as mentors for those in the program, Carruthers said. He plans for there to be a ratio of three young people to each mentor.

Participants will be identified through schools and the juvenile court system.

Metro on 07/15/2015

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