Helping at risk teens in Hamilton

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Ever since Jesse Clarke’s tragic death, it’s been hard to ignore the subject of teen violence. Stabbings, shootings, teens getting involved with gangs. In a special report, Nicole Martin speaks with some Hamilton teens to find out why this is happening, and how we can help.

Some of the most at risk teens attend Sir John A Macdonald High School, in the heart of downtown Hamilton. Behind these doors they offer a program called Off the Fence. One man started the class and is making a difference in their lives.

Garth Bell gathered 25 students who were slipping through the cracks. “I was in the office one day. Because I was getting kicked out and then Garth came in and basically said ‘hold on’ and said ‘wait, we are going to bring her into our class. She’s not leaving.”

The kids here have gone through a lot more than most people their age. Kids like Chantel Barnard. “Jesse Clarke was my boyfriend when he died and after that happened things just went downhill at school.”

Garth helps the group focus on the consequences of their actions. “Here we are like a community. Everyone’s accepting” said one student in the group.

That’s something a lot of students don’t find at home.

“Some of the parent’s lost hope a long time ago. So I think it’s up to the community’ says Garth Bell. “It’s up to every single person in that community to help.”

Including Hamilton Police who take part in the Off the Fence program. These youth officers reach out to the teens, and build relationships with the students. Officers like Constable Wayne Potter. “We are just here to talk to them, let them know if they need help. They calk about anything and we show them those programs. Get them involved in some of the programs in the community.”

“We are trying to establish trust” says Constable Henry Neudorf. “Many of the kids that we first meet are so uncertain as to how to behave around police officers or they will avoid us.”

After spending a few hours with these teenagers it’s clear, they want someone to care. When they were asked to pick one word to describe what the program has given them, one student replied “hope, its given me a lot of hope.”

There will still be guns and violence but at least some of these teens now know a way out.