A community leader is taking a new approach to reduce violence in Syracuse.
Pastor Bishop H. Bernard Alex of Victory Temple Fellowship Church is leaning on male role models to help keep young people on the right track. The Pastor said strong male leaders need to be present in the lives of the Syracuse youth.
"It helps to change the trajectory of the family and/or children in a positive way," the pastor said.
The pastor is bringing the community’s men together at public events, such as a recent street fair, and inviting the city’s youth so the groups can build positive relationships. He said male adults with or without kids are invited to attend, but he titled a recent event “Father’s Arise."
"They helped set up, they helped watched the bounce house while kids were in there. They served as security, they helped with the painting with the kids. They did any and everything," the pastor said.
The effort is just getting underway. The pastor has arranged only a few events with this focus on male leaders, but he hopes to bring even more.
"Just as men, just come and walk around the neighborhood. Just walk around the neighborhood and say hello. Not pass out anything. Not give anything. Just let your presence in a positive way be seen," Pastor Alex said.
The next event he’s planning would involve bringing the community’s toddlers and male leaders together to paint. But the pastor said he’s still pulling together the funding.