Printer-friendly version
East County News Service
Photo via tkf.org
September 9, 2016 (San Diego) - Twenty years ago after the murder of his 20-year-old son Tariq, Azim Khamisa saw the need to address the epidemic of youth violence in the United States. He reached out to the grandfather of his son’s murderer, Ples Felix, in a spirit of forgiveness. Together, they founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation.
Two decades later after reaching 500,000 youth through TKF’s programs and millions of people worldwide through TKF’s inspirational story, TKF executive director Tasreen Khamisa joined national restorative justice leaders and advocates for a historic meeting at The White House in response to President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative.
Khamisa told the TKF story to Obama Administration policy advisors as a testament to the power of the group’s work rooted in forgiveness, compassion and accountability. “I shared how my family did not turn its backs on 14-year-old Tony Hicks, even though he killed my brother, Tariq,” said Tasreen Khamisa. “Tony was a young man who had experienced heartbreaking trauma and violence. We have not waned in our support of Tony throughout his many years of unnecessary incarceration. We will advocate for his release and he will have a job at TKF upon leaving prison.”
Meeting participants included:
• Tariq Khamisa Foundation
• California Conference of Equality & Justice
• Children’s Defense Fund
• Le Grand Union High School District
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• National Conflict Resolution Center
• National Education Associatio
• Public Counsel
• Riverside Unified School District
• San Diego Unified School District
Childrens’ exposure to violence whether as the victim, the perpetrator, or as a witness deeply affects how they remember, learn, act, and feel. Often this happens during the critical development period between the ages of 10 to 15 when they should instead be focusing on education, learning life and social skills, and taking on new responsibilities.
TKF has focused its attention from the very beginning on this age group – the same age group Tony Hicks fell in as a 14-year-old gang member when he shot and killed Tariq Khamisa. Among the youth served by TKF since 1995, 97 percent of the participants are ethnic minorities; 89 percent have disciplinary problems, 74 percent have academic problems, 38 percent are truant, and 32 percent have at least one incarcerated family member.
TKF has consistently measured its programs and services to gauge results and adjust its methods to improve its outcomes. The positive impact over two decades tells the story. Among the students participating in TKF’s mentoring programs, behavioral misconduct incidents were reduced 67 percent, and truancy by 72 percent. Ninety percent of the youth attending TKF’s assemblies learn significant and lasting lessons about the consequences of violence.
From its original “Violence Impact Forum” assemblies, TKF has developed a ten-session violence prevention curriculum with lessons focused in restorative practice principles. The TKF curriculum is built on tested instructional materials developed to meet educational standards for character building, social competency, healthy decision-making and personal safety. Our curriculum is intended to help students develop social skills, sound reasoning abilities, and advocate for collaborative behaviors.
Schools that adopt restorative justice practices show remarkable progress at improving the learning environment. A recent study by the nonprofit WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center, “Restorative Justice in U.S. Schools,” found improvement in teachers’ respect for students by 70 percent, and students’ respect for teachers increased 75 percent. The study found 70 percent of all participating schools saw a reduction in suspensions and an improvement in the overall climate at their schools, and 60 percent reported increased academic achievement.
Read more about the White House meeting here: http://tkf.org/2016/08/31/tkf-visits-the-white-house/
For more information about the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, visit www.tkf.org
Recent comments