Fixing the Problem

According to the CDC, these are the risk factors for teen violence, the kind that killed Joseph Adetula:

For the youth himself or herself:

• Attention deficits/hyperactivity
• Antisocial beliefs and attitudes
• History of early aggressive behavior
• Involvement with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
• Early involvement in general offenses
• Low IQ
• Poor behavioral control
• Social cognitive or information-processing deficits

In the youth's family:

• Authoritarian childrearing attitudes
• Exposure to violence and family conflict
• Harsh, lax, or inconsistent disciplinary practices
• Lack of involvement in the child's life
• Low emotional attachment to parents or caregivers
• Low parental education and income
• Parental substance abuse and criminality
• Poor family functioning
• Poor monitoring and supervision of children

We can't fix all those problems. But we can fix a significant portion of them, with your help. We can provide a place for kids to go after school, with the guidance of an adult. We can show them the alternatives to substance abuse. By talking to them, we can help identify problems they're having that are keeping them from doing well in school. And we can give them something else to care about.

Now below are factors identified by the CDC as things children may have that will help inoculate them against violent behaviors. How many do you think a caring organization like the Joseph Adetula Foundation can provide?

• Intolerant attitude toward "bad" behavior
• High IQ
• Positive social orientation
• Peer/School Protective Factors:
• Commitment to school
• Involvement in social activities

Help support the Joseph Adetula Foundation. We can turn our kids around.