Become Our Brother’s Keeper

On Monday, September 14, 2009 two 17-year-old boys were stabbed in the parking lot of Bloor Collegiate Institute. This is the second stabbing incident since the start of the 2009/10 school. As the parent of two teens in high school, I am always shocked each time I hear new reports about violence in schools across the Greater Toronto Area. Teen violence in schools has a devastating impact on our entire community and we must work assiduously to stop teen violence. Since the stabbing incident at St. Joseph Catholic School in Mississauga in June, I have taken a much deeper interest in the campaign to address teen violence in our schools. It is for this reason I started the Facebook Group called “Stop Teen Violence in Schools Across the GTA.” The group was created to attract parents, policymakers, and others who have an interest to ending teen violence in our schools. The membership to the group is open. There are currently 120 people in the group most of whom are from around the GTA and other parts of Canada.

The incident at St. Joseph Catholic School hit very close to home for me. It is an experience that I am still trying to understanding what went wrong. One of the key lessons that I have learnt from the incident at St. Joseph is that each of us have a role to play if we are going to seriously curb violence in schools across the Greater Toronto Area. It takes a village to grow a child. We need to become our brother’s keeper. We need to be attentive to the teens around us. We should encourage teens especially those who appear to be struggling with their personalities and identities to get involved in character building programs at schools, church or community centres. It's not enough to notice; we have to intervene by providing support, warning the necessary people, and providing a healthy and supportive environment. Young people need opportunities to talk and connect with adults who care about them.