Two Peace Crew members from Crispus Attucks share their thoughts about youth needs.

On Thursday, February 10, four youth from PLC programs at John Marshall High School and Crispus Attucks High School delivered powerful messages to the media, public officials, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department about what children and youth really need in this community and how meeting those needs can help reduce crime and violence.  

We were also given an opportunity to share the potential impact of our proposed One Indy project which will target nine elementary schools and six high schools in the six focus neighborhoods identified by the IMPD as places where residents are 600% more likely to be victims of crime.

From Robert King's Indy Star article: Groves, a 16 year old student at John Marshall, said the pressures he and other teen boys face - "to do a certain thing, to act a certain way" - are hard to resist. Don't do those things and others can make you feel "lame," he said. 

He's managed the feat through his volunteering with the Peace Learning Center, but it hasn't been easy. 

"Bascially," he said, "you're scared to be different."

We are very proud of our students and excited about the potential positive impact One Indy will have in our community. To learn more about the project and the students' presentation, be sure to check-out one (or more) of the media stories about this event:

Indy Star: A growing share of city's body count -- children

Channel 13 News WTHR: DPS teaches children about conflict resolution, stopping crime when young

The Indy Channel - One Indy program aims to stop youth violence

More financial support is needed to make our One Indy project a reality. Please click here to donate today!

Tim Nation, Executive Director and Co-Founder

Relationships are the foundation of all learning - and most of our living. 

Terry Small, a presenter at a recent conference at Marian University, shared research which demonstrated at least 50% of all student grades are based on their relationships with their teachers.  We must feel safe and calm to be open to learning.  That is why we help teachers focus on social and emotional skills to help them build a warm sense of community in their classroom. 

Our culture loves competition - letting the market place decide winners and losers, reveling over sports champions, and even grading our schools. 

Though many know that Darwin wrote about survival of the fittest in his "Evolution of Species" he followed that publication with "The Descent of Man" that explored evolution's effect on humankind.  In this book, he only mentions survival of the fittest twice, but the word love 95 times.

None of us would be here if the ultimate law was survival of the fittest. No baby would be raised if there was only competition.  Love is the force that nurtures and grows our families and our communities.

How can you foster a spirit of cooperation, healthy relationships and love? 

Tim Nation,

Executive Director and Co-founder,

Peace Learning Center