THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1996 TAG: 9609130802
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 67 lines
A growing group of men who have set out to bring peace and unity back to area communities hopes to pack a Portsmouth church with like-minded souls tonight.
Members of Citizens For SAVE (Stopping Acts of Violence with Education) walked the streets of the Ida Barbour and Washington Park public housing neighborhoods Thursday night to spread the word.
The interracial, interdenominational organization will hold a ``solution-driven'' meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Fourth Baptist Church, 726 South St.
Tom Taylor, a Chesapeake resident who started Citizens For SAVE, said the organization now has about 40 men from all walks of life.
``The only requirement to be a part of this is to have a good heart,'' he said.
The organization is open to women and young people as well as men.
But, Taylor said, ``we started out to organize men, because we believe men are the problem.''
For the past four months, the organization has been going to different communities throughout Hampton Roads. This is the group's second trip to Portsmouth.
By October, the organization hopes to have a Students for SAVE program in each local school district. In November, the organization plans to bring 300 church leaders together for a meeting.
``We just look at ourselves as a few laborers,'' said Taylor, branch manager for the Ford Motor Credit Co. in Chesapeake.
At tonight's meeting, the organization will present ``seven Christ-centered solutions'' to violence and lack of unity.
Taylor said the solutions are not all-inclusive and not new. In fact, none of them was started by Citizens for SAVE.
Instead of ``re-inventing the wheel,'' Taylor's organization looks for and brings awareness and support to solid, effective programs already in place.
``The seven solutions that we are bringing to introduce to the community are organizations and individuals that are doing things that are very powerful in the community that a lot of African Americans are not aware of,'' he said.
Taylor said that by promoting these programs, his organization is saying: ``Here are some answers . . . you didn't know this was at work, but it's at work and it's working well.''
The programs to be introduced are:
Operation Breakthrough, which offers churches the chance to adopt an impoverished community or to identify and help young people in need of jobs.
Ships at Sea, a rehabilitation program for men recovering from substance abuse.
Project Light, a Bible-based literacy program.
Broken Chains Inc., an interdenominational ministry that offers services ranging from emergency assistance to educational programs.
Rites of Passage, a program that offers positive influences for young people.
Promise Keepers, a men's ministry committed to ``racial and denominational reconciliation'' as well as ``building strong marriages.''
Training of young people through Sunday School and Bible study. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Citizens for SAVE's message, Tom Taylor says, is that some programs
aimed at stopping violence are working well.
Graphic
TO ATTEND
For details on tonight's meeting, call Nora Willoughby at
366-5501. by CNB