More than 20 years ago, a promising student dropped out of school to sell drugs and was killed in a turf war. The event motivated his teacher, Dr. John Marshall, to start a program to support at-risk youngsters and steer them toward productive lives.
“It’s hard to teach a kid math at 13, then go his funeral at 19,” said Marshall.
More than 10,000 youth have attended the Omega Boys Club’s group counseling and tutoring sessions, reports The Oakland Tribune. They are drilled in “straight-talk” sessions about survival in the streets.
Marshall says his teaching concepts focus on the “root issues behind the students’ self-destructive behavior.” His mentoring program prepares the young men to recognize risk factors that make them more likely to succumb to the disease of street violence.
Michael Gibson, 37, is one success story. At 12, Gibson was arrested for selling drugs and dropped out of school. Four years later, a judge sentenced him to eight years at California Youth Authority for attempted murder with the possession of firearms. Upon his release, the Omega Boys Club helped him turn his life around.
He earned his B.A. from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Today, he is married, has a 5-year-old son and is a program manager for the Alameda County Public Health Department’s emergency medical staff.
Thanks to numerous donations, Marshall promises to send anyone in the program to college if they finish high school or get their GED. To date, the club has helped 176 boys and girls attend college.
The club was launched in 1987 by Marshall and Jack Jacqua, a former San Francisco public school teacher who volunteers with SQUIRES, San Quentin’s youth mentor program.
