We wish to announce the release of our revised drug education and crime prevention program, which we have named “Making Choices and Facing Consequences.” It consists of four volumes: Weapons in Schools, Drugs and Alcohol, Who Can Stop the Bullying?, and Gangs-N-The Hood. Lessons include real-life true examples of decisions and results.
We are tired of the deafening echo of gunfire in the community we grew up in, the weeping and crying of mothers, and one funeral procession after another. We cannot afford to normalize the persistent crisis of gun violence and drug overdoses. Swift and immediate action is needed.”
Gun death rate grows
Gun violence is the number one threat to our children. It kills more children than Covid, the flu or RSV. According to the Children’s Defense Fund’s 2023 report entitled “The State Of America’s Children 2023.” gun violence is the number one cause of death for ages 1 through 19. The death rate increased by nearly 40 percent from 2017 to 2021 and is still increasing. In 2021, we lost 13 children a day, which is the highest number ever recorded.
Blacks die at higher rate
During the period of 2017 to 2021, Black children and teens were six times as likely to die from gun violence as their White peers. In 2021 the gun related death rate for White children was 3.3 per 100,000. For Black children it was 20.5 per 100,000 children. The majority were Black boys.
Suicides continue to rise
From 2000 to 2020, Black youth ages 10 to 19 experienced a 78 percent increase in suicides. Black children 5 to 12 years old are twice as likely to commit suicide as their White peers. Black teen suicides are growing at an alarming rate. Researchers attribute this to adverse childhood experiences.
Daily violence threats
Saginaw’s children are growing up in one of the most violent communities in the country. Saginaw has one of the highest homicide rates. There were a total of 24 murders in 2020. That equates to 50.2 for every 100,000 people, well above the national homicide rate of 6.5 murders per 100,000. In 2020 there were 2,154 violent crimes in Saginaw per 100,000 residents, compared to 399 per 100,000 nationwide.
In 2021 Saginaw passed Detroit for the fourth most violent crime rate in the country. FBI data shows nearly 1,100 violent crimes in Saginaw in 2021. Saginaw had 19 homicides in both 2021 and 2022. In 2021, 18 involved gun violence; in 2022, 16. Three homicides occurred in Saginaw during the first four days of 2024. Saginaw needs a gun violence prevention program like Making Choices.
Opioids, fentanyl emerge
The chemical plague, which is sweeping through the country, operates like an infectious disease and crosses all classes, social, cultural, and racial lines. From the heart of the poorest city to the outer limits of the richest suburbs, the testimony is the same. We are losing more and more children to drugs.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the butcher, baker or candlestick maker’s son or daughter. Fentanyl overdose deaths have increased every year for the past 10 years. In 2022 fentanyl was responsible for 200 deaths per day. Over 250,000 Americans have died from fentanyl since 2018.
Whether it’s fentanyl, oxycontin, codeine or crack, the result is the same. We are losing more and more children to drugs. Our children need a drug education and prevention program like Making Choices.
Support for mentors
Making Choices is a mentor text book. It is field-tested and evidence based. We believe that if you put a tool like Making Choices in the hands of a loving and caring mentor (parents, teacher, coach, Sunday school teacher) you can change the direction of a young adult’s life. It presents hard-to-talk-about subjects like gun violence, drugs, bullying and gangs in a very unique and engaging way. Its hypothetical stories and questions are designed to generate an in-depth discussion of the life-altering choices and consequences presented by gun violence and drugs. These are discussions that every child in our community should participate in.
Involve school and civic leaders
Our schools have more daily contact with our children than any other public or private institution. They must accept responsibility for exposing our children to the kind of anti-gun violence and drug abuse materials contained in Making Choices.
However, the schools cannot do it alone. Nor can they afford the kind of effort it will take. Our local governmental entities, including the City of Saginaw and Saginaw County, must step forward and fund more crime and drug prevention programs. The world won’t get no better if we just let it be.
Our children deserve the chance to have a childhood free from violence and drugs and a community with leaders who ensure that they are safe in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities.
M.T. Thompson Jr. is a retired Saginaw district judge, civic leader and youth advocate. He can be reached via malikthompson0513@gmail.com. His daughter, Monica R. Nuckolls, is a U-M law grad who relies on her courtroom experience as a professor at Cooley Law School. Her contact is nuckollm@cooley.edu.
