During a Topeka Police Department Citizens Advisory Council meeting Thursday night, members listened to three presentations about programs that partner with the police department and work with kids in the community.
One of them, the OK Program, works with African-American children ages 12 to 18 and focuses on instilling a sense of empowerment and teaching them how to improve their community. Topeka police officer Tim Bell, who runs the Topeka chapter, said the program focuses on African-American children because statistics show that 75 percent of black households are single-parent households, and usually that is the mother.
The program brings in men who work in the community to talk to the kids, and Bell said they monitor the kids’ grades, make sure they are turning in their homework and that they have good relationships with their teachers.
Bell said there are currently 118 boys in the OK Program, which is also open to girls.
“Your environment doesn’t have to be an excuse for the way you act,” Bell said. “It’s all based off the merit of your character.”
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)