Mentorship and sports: Detroit PAL’s strategy to break the cycle of violence

DETROIT–TheDetroitPoliceAthleticLeague(PAL)servesmorethan9,000youthacrossthecity,butCEOFredHunterseespotentialtoreachmanymoreamidrisingconcernsaboutyouthviolence. RecentDetroitPoliceDepartmentdatashowsa33%increaseinyoungvictimsofgunviolencecomparedtothesameperiodlastyear.Casesinvolvingpeopleunder17caughtwithgunshaverisennearly20%. “Thedatashowscrimesarehappeningatyoungerages.We’reseeing11-year-oldsto17-year-oldswhodon’thavepositiveactivitiestobeinvolvedwithouttherecommittingcrimes,”Huntersaid. YouthDevelopmentBeyondSportsWhileknownforits12sportsprograms,DetroitPALfocusesoncomprehensiveyouthdevelopmentthroughenrichment,leadershipandacademicinitiatives.Theorganizationoperatesin120locationsthroughoutDetroit,deliberatelypositioningprogramswheretheycanreachthemostvulnerableyouth. “Sportsisavehicleweusetoupliftyoungpeopleandhelpthemfindwhatwecalltheirgreatnessontheinside,”Huntersaid. Researchidentifiesthe