The level of violence among youths has risen to alarming proportions over the last few decades. The inner cities have become breeding grounds for youths committing felony crimes and grave yards for those being killed.
The conditions that contribute to the delinquency among our youths are widely studied, documented and reported. Our juvenile systems are now bulging and growing as rapidly as adult jails. Speaking with inner city youths, they know that “Juvenile Hall” is jail for kids and they report having many friends and peers who have gone there, or are still there.
As a psychotherapist trained in trauma resolution, I have worked with children ages three through eighteen, resolving trauma triggered by many types of occurrences. These include death of parents through illness, sudden and traumatic death of parents, relatives and friends, rape and sexual molestation and through separation from their parents and family.
Great empathy is extended to the young child who cannot understand the absence of a mother due to untimely death. Most family members are not appropriately trained to handle trauma in their children. Youths, age seven to twelve,...