See also:  The Dorchester Miracle: Eugene Rivers and One Neighborhood

Everyone's heard about the "Boston Miracle" which diminished gang violence after many Christian workers went onto the streets of the inner-city thirty years ago and have continued to stay there. (We told the dramatic story of the seminal standoff that occurred on the hot streets one night in 1972 in our August 1999 edition.) But how is the miracle doing in 2000? We asked a man who knows: Mark Scott, Director of the Ella Baker House, Dorchester.

By John Joseph Fahey
October 2000

"The deeper problem that we face in Boston is that the sins of the fathers are being visited on the fourth generation," says Mark Scott. "The sin is the absence of a male role model." 

"With the father away," Scott continued, "there is no male in the family and this results in a dearth of role models in the community at large. Some young men get into trouble because of this. Having a male to look up to is essential, especially for younger kids. Much of the root cause of all our problems is the result of a child being without a father in the home."

Scott is Director of the Ella Baker House, which is situated only a few feet from the newly renovated Dorchester District Court and a plethora of fundamentalist and evangelical storefront churches in the once-again thriving Codman Square section of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. He directs an outreach program for youth, which teaches literacy, helps them obtain jobs and works with the courts to avoid violence.

The recent resurgence of street crime in Boston is troubling, says Scott. 

Crime Is Still a Concern
Although the crime numbers are not as bad as the early 1990's, it is still a concern. As of mid-August, Boston's homicide rate in the neighborhoods reached thirty-one. To be sure, this is still a substantial decrease from 1991 when Boston witnessed a disconcerting homicide statistic of 152 victims during the year, many of whom were under 16 years of age. But as Scott points out, even thirty-one is too many. "We have seen a reduced number of homicides, and we've also experienced a dramatic drop (and even absence) in juvenile homicides (those under 16 years of age ) relative to past numbers," he says.

Scott attributes the recent increase to several factors: "There are more young people, therefore potentially more crime. And there is an increase in the number of people being released from incarceration - now about two to three hundred coming out of the County House of Correction. We have this mixture to deal with." 

Even more important, says Scott, is that just because we've stopped a youth from getting killed doesn't mean we've given him the necessary skills to be a happy and productive person.

Scott believes that Baker House is a method of reaching out to troubled youth, not only to give them a sense of belonging to the community, but to realize also that by taking responsibility for their actions, they can not only become productive but can also obtain their goals. 

But, as Scott reiterates: "The onus must be on the kids. A lot of changes take place in an individual's life because they make the decision to do the right thing. Even if one has the resources, programs, and support accessible, one cannot go on the right path unless one first wants to go on that right path. You cannot force a kid to go to school or to keep out of trouble. It is up to the kid. After all, where you end up in life is up to you; you alone make that decision.

"This is why we need to have community generated programs, which is what we try to do here at Baker House. However, it is essential that those who are involved, those wanting to improve their lives and reach their potential show initiative, and this cannot be bought with money. These individuals must be willing to take responsibility."

But it is not only the very young that Baker House tries to minister to; although its objectives are to help kids avoid violence, along with achieving literacy and to access employment. Scott also is involved in a program where: "We work with young men in their 20s and 30s. These men have spent time in prison and now have gotten their lives going in the right direction." But, again Scott emphasizes, "These men decided to go in the right direction, it was up to them."

Plan Comes from Proverbs
Scott shares this vision of helping youth with the Chairman of the Baker House, the Rev. Eugene Rivers. They have a plan in the form of an outreach program that gives youth a chance of making it. "It's not unlike the plan in Scripture," explains Scott, "where in Proverbs there is a plan laid out for a young man contrasting wisdom with folly. And depending upon which one you chose, both determine where you end up in life - in a ditch or obtaining prosperity."

He says, "It brings to mind a personal experience of someone I recently spoke to who experienced a transformation. This man's life was changed for the better because after incarceration he made a personal decision to make it better; he was also surrounded by a group of people who helped him. He stayed on the right path and continued to associate with people of faith."

Scott continues to try to implement his vision for the youth of Baker House to learn not only the necessary skills to make it in the workplace but also to learn the importance of faith. Baker House, after all, is related to the Azusa Christian Community Church. And, it is with this involvement of learning literacy, obtaining jobs and avoiding violence that young people will not be associated with the crime in the city, or regrettably becoming another victim. The answer is in community involvement, with youth making the decision within to want to go on the right path, and young people having male role models. 

As Scott muses, "We cannot continue to have an absence of the father in the home, or the male role models in the community, if we do, we can possibly experience an inordinate amount of homicides and violence. But I think we can halt these homicides. We can do it, but we must act now."

He continues to elaborate on the need for more male role models. "Take, for example, a boy at home with only a female adult, usually his mother. He has no father in the house. He goes to elementary school, and he is exposed to mostly female adults. A child needs both parents. Of course, this goes for girls, too. Both boys and girls need both parents.

"And, it is just not the male role model in the home that is imperative to the well being of the child. There must be a presence of those important adult figures in the community helping each other. It is important to build, or, if necessary, rebuild the community. This is done with the visibility of the cop on the beat, the minister and the informal network of adults who are connected with each other and who take responsibility for the community.

"This is why we need to have community generated programs, which is what we try to do here at Baker House. However, it is essential that those who are involved, those wanting to improve their lives and reach their potential show initiative, and this cannot be bought with money. These individuals must be willing to take responsibility."

Scott's vision of striving to secure these goals for many of the city's young people comes from his background as a committed Christian.

After four years in the Air Force, and then working as an engineer and a librarian, Scott came to Boston in 1984 from Chicago. He has been involved with the Baker House, which was founded by the Azusa Christian Community, in Codman Square ever since, becoming its director in 1995.
Scott is married and the father of two children. He sees the nurturing of the family as the key in starting life on a successful path and he places great emphasis on the importance that the role of the family plays in society.
 
 

The Story of Ella J. Baker House Was Recently Told by Chuck Colson on His Radio Program, BreakPoint

The Dorchester Miracle: Eugene Rivers and One Neighborhood

By Chuck Colson

Eight years ago, the Boston neighborhood known as Dorchester had hit bottom. The crack epidemic had not only produced hundreds of addicts, it had spawned a terrible wave of violence, in particular among young people.

The extent of the problem was driven home when, at a funeral for the victim of a drive-by shooting, gang members entered the church and began shooting and stabbing one another in front of the congregation.

Out of this mixture of shock and outrage was born a model for reclaiming neighborhoods like Dorchester - not only in Boston, but across the country.

The model became known as the "Ten Point Coalition," and the driving force behind the coalition was Eugene Rivers, the pastor of the Azusa Christian Community in Dorchester. Rivers, who was a gang member in his youth, had personally witnessed the toll violence had taken. His own home had been shot into twice, and broken into many more times.

One day he asked a local drug dealer, "Why did we lose you? Why are we losing other kids now?" The dealer told him "I'm there. You're not. When the boy . . . . wants a pair of sneakers or just somebody older to talk to or feel safe and strong around, I'm there, you're not . . . I win, you lose. . . ." 

As a result of this conversation, Rivers and other pastors made it their mission to "be there." The plan was multi-faceted. It included summer recreation and literacy programs. It included mentoring programs and one-on-one drug treatment programs. And Christians manned neighborhood patrols.

After Dorchester's pastors proved their commitment to both their community and the lives of Boston's young people, they were invited to participate in various criminal justice initiatives. These included anti-gang policing, juvenile probation monitoring, and crime prevention initiatives.

This commitment to kids reflects a Christian understanding of human nature. Rivers won't hesitate to recommend locking up a dangerous juvenile. Nor will he flinch from telling parents that their 14-year-old son is a "sociopath" or "a homicide waiting to happen." He knows that Christian love of neighbor includes telling the truth about their condition.

The results the pastors achieved in Boston were astounding. The crime rate dropped 77 percent in less than a decade. Even more amazing, Boston, which had averaged nearly 20 juvenile homicides in the years preceding the Ten Point Coalition, went nearly five years without a single juvenile murder.

What's more, the drop was accomplished without an accompanying rise in tension between the police and community - as has happened, sadly, in New York.

Their Ten Point model has now spread to other cities and is credited with helping reduce crime in neighborhoods that, like Dorchester, some people had given up on.

In addition to saving lives and bringing hope where none existed, the story of Eugene Rivers and the Ten Point Coalition is a reminder of why, as Augustine said, Christians make the best citizens. Love of God and neighbor drives Christians - like Eugene Rivers and his friends - to do more than is required.

It moves them to go places that government can't and won't go, to "be there." And it's a great testimony of what happens when faith-based solutions replace cumbersome government bureaucracies.