Use sport to fight crime. That is the call from former Democratic Labour Party candidate for St George North, Floyd Reifer.
The Sports Educator has urged Government to implement community sports programmes targeted at young men in order to address crime and violence.
“Crime and violence in this country have reached a very serious stage, and we must not point fingers and play the blaming game. Instead, the Government must address the challenge and understand that one of the root problems is that there are not enough wholesome community activities for youth to be involved in, especially young men”, Reifer said.
The West Indies U19 coach stated that Government must revamp existing community sports programme.
“They are ineffective and not reaching our young people. The National Sports Council and other youth organisations have a major role to play in providing these opportunities for our youth.”
Reifer criticised Government and other agencies, accusing them of the incorrect approach, which is counter-productive to seeing any results.
“Instead of trying to dismantle the blocks, work with the young people to change the culture into something more positive and productive. We must work with young people, not criticise them,” he said.
Reifer stated that he is in the process of launching his own community programmes across the country, but a special focus will be on his home parish, St George.
“I am currently working with a team to launch programmes that are targeted and revealing some of the hidden talents in our communities.
“While unearthing and developing new talent is nothing new to me, I am approaching it from the perspective of lifting up our young people so that they can appreciate that there is more to life than drugs, guns, and violence. There are talented young men out there who can make careers out of sports,” the former candidate said. (PR/IMC)
