TARIQ KHAMISA FOUNDATION MAKES IMPACT IN SCHOOLS TO HELP END YOUTH VIOLENCE

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By Janis Russell

September 22, 2016 (San Diego) - In 1995, 20-year-old Tariq Khamisa was shot and killed by 14-year-old Tony Hicks, a gang member. Hicks was convicted as an adult and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), a nonprofit, was established in 1995 by Tariq’s father Azim Khamisa along with Tony Hicks’ grandfather, Ples Felix.

The Khamisas chose to forgive Hicks and Azim reached out to Felix for forgiveness as well.  The mission of this foundation is to stop youth violence by educating and inspiring children in the restorative principles of accountability, compassion, forgiveness, peacemaking, and support for safer schools and communities.

According to the website, “It is common- Tariq’s incident is not an isolated incident. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, 16 young people are murdered on average each day in the United States… In fact, homicide is the second leading cause of death in young people between the ages of 10 and 24… It is widespread. Youth violence is not only in deprived neighborhoods. It can happen anywhere and anytime… It cost all of us money. According to the American Correctional Association, it cost $24,455 annually to house a juvenile in a California Juvenile Residential Facility. Alternatively, it only costs $1,500 for TKF to mentor each youth in our program.”

ECM interviewed Tasreen Khamisa, Tariq’s sister and the executive director of the foundation.

What is one way the foundation is carrying out their mission? “The most impactful way over the last 20 years [is that] we’ve developed the safe school model” which consists of four programs, she said.  The organization has been teaching these practices to kids. “We have reached 500,000 children in San Diego County,” she added.  There’s been a 72% reduction in suspension and 72% increase in school attendance.   

According to a paper outlining the model, the safe school model includes:

1. Class Curriculum- a restorative practice educational program (TKF Circle of Peace Curriculum), which consists of ten sessions. It’s built on tested instructional materials intended to meet educational standards for character building, social competency, healthy decision making, and personal safety. The curriculum help students develop social skills, sound reasoning abilities, and allow for collaborative behaviors. It includes active student discussions and encourages sharing personal views, opinions, and experiences on various topics.

2. Peace Clubs- a student leadership service program (Circle of Peace Club)- which is a youth leadership program designed to inspire young people to find peaceful ways to live and prosper in the world. It builds student advocacy and leadership skills around the concepts of peace, understanding, and cooperation. The club’s activities emphasize the educational strategies of achieving inner peace, practicing collaborative life skills, and making a difference in school/community.

3. Mentoring- an individualized student prevention program (TKF Mentoring)- which is an intervention to assist and support students most at risk due to violence or harm. It provides individualized attention and guidance some students need to improve in their academic performance, reduce school infractions, and improve attendance. The mentoring strategy includes a restorative approach that is focused on peacemaking, behavior management, problem solving, and mediation to prevent future misconduct incidents. Mentor services focus on advocacy, educational assistance, life skills, and positive school/community engagement.

4. Violence Impact Assemblies- a powerful 60-minute school presentation centered on the TKF story. There are presenters, a video, and open discussion to provide schoolwide messages and strategies focused on understanding the impacts of violence, forgiveness, and peacemaking.

Tariq’s sister was recently at the White House meeting with the Obama Administration officials, along with many other similar organizations. We asked if the meeting and speaking experience had any impact and what was the response.

“The big agenda was to change the way we’re disciplining children in schools,” she replied, adding that there has been a 300% increase in suspension and expulsion due to the choices people are taking to discipline kids in California. “It’s not working. “

The meeting was about “bringing advocates together…we need to start meeting the social and emotional needs of youth, she said. “Khamisa explained how Hicks had a lot of anger built up inside him, and he was never taught on how to express his anger in a healthy way. “When we started the foundation, it was Tony we had in mind…we’ve always had a restorative justice approach. I was there to share that story…we’ve reached a million youth worldwide…we’ve saved many lives,” she noted, adding, “We have supported Tony in prison.”

 Her dad, Azim, has visited Tony in prison. “We have offered him a job when he gets out…I think we have a big impact because of the way we’ve handled something tragic,” Khamisa noted.

While at the White House, Khamisa met with Roy Austin, assistant to the president of justice and urban affairs, and Mario Cardona and Carmen Facciolla, two senior policy advisors of the educational and domestic policy council. She didn’t get to meet President Obama.  (View more information about the White House visit here: http://tkf.org/2016/08/31/tkf-visits-the-white-house/.)

What has the foundation’s impact been on East County in general? “We’re at La Mesa Arts Academy…we’re actually there with our full [safe schools] model… It’s our second year on that campus. ”The organization has a mentor at that site and is also going to be working with Spring Valley Middle School as well. The relationship with La Mesa Arts Academy started to grow last year, after the academy switched to a 4th-8th grade school, she said, adding that the foundation has helped reduce suspension and expulsion. “We definitely have a presence there,” Khamisa concluded.

How can people show their support for the foundation? First, by being a good role model in the life of a child, Khamisa says.  Second, follow TKF on social media and help get the word out.  You can also donate on the website.

“We’re trying to raise funds for La Mesa Arts Academy,” said Khamisa, who adds that donors can make a note on the check etc if they’d like to donate to the academy.

 Since the recent violence that’s been happening around the world and in San Diego, “I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls,” she says.  She believes people” want hope.”

Forgiving her brother’s killer has “helped me to practice forgiveness in everyday life,” says Khamisa, who encourages everyone to forgive in even the small ways.

Upcoming events include school assemblies, including one coming soon at Spring Valley Middle School this fall, which will require an RSVP. (If interested, go to the TKF website for upcoming dates. http://tkf.org/)

The program touts impressive results: reducing behavioral misconduct incidents by 63% in San Diego Unified schools that have the mentoring program; a 65% decrease of school suspensions for mentored students in the Escondido Union School District Safe Schools Project; 85% youth that have attended the school assemblies have learned a lesson on being kind to others and 73% learned how to resolve anger and conflict without fighting or violence.

From 1996-2015- 127,133 students have attended 428 TKF school assemblies, 9,224 young people have participated in TKF facilitated educational curriculum, 2,360 youth have received individualized mentoring services with TKF, and 350,000 San Diego county children have attended TKF presentations, lectures, or workshops over the years.

Most of all, Khamisa wants to emphasize the everyday practice of empathy and forgiveness. “This world would look very different” if everyone carried those out,” she concluded.

To learn about the foundation, call 619-955-8777. Or email: info@tkf.org. Also, watch this YouTube video for an overview of TKF: https://youtu.be/kAnkY8M5Wic.


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