When Tyrone Parker returned from prison in 1987, he founded ACM to address the systemic issues that neglected DC communities face – lives destroyed by drugs, unplanned teenage pregnancy, and violence. Today, managing DYRS's Credible Messenger program, ACM provides mentoring, job training, education, mental health, and case management to youth charged with felonies in juvenile detention. It manages a Cure the Streets program in Washington Highlands and the Conflict Resolution Youth Training Program, which teaches youth to develop and advance a culture of peace. A public safety pilot in Ward 7 aims to reduce the alarming rise in gun violence over the past year: formerly incarcerated men and women revive the roles of elders in traditional African societies—as knowledge keepers, spiritual leaders, counselors, healers, facilitators of reconciliation—to help solve one of the District’s (and American society’s) most perplexing and persistent problems.
Learn More
