Sounds Of Hope Rise From A Struggling San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — "We're already at the bottom. There's no place to go but up," said Terrence Stone, a reformed former gang member and community leader from San Bernardino.
The city was named the most dangerous in California this week, based on FBI statistics. Stone and other leaders don't like the label. They brush it aside as they focus on hope for the city and its youth.
"When people don't have the opportunity to live, then they just merely survive," said A. Majadi of the Boys and Girls Club of San Bernardino. The club provides a safe haven for kids and works with other groups like Young Visionaries to give kids a reason to hope.
"I go into the community, I'm always out and about whether it be at the liquor stores or in the neighborhoods I'm always in the mix," said Stone of the Young Visionaries program. He helps lead kids to the Boys and Girls Club, where they have access to a professional recording studio. They can create music there for free, through a program called Chords.
"Through their music creation, they're releasing their frustrations," said Edwin Johnson, who helps run Chords. "They're talking about different things that's going on in their community. It's giving them a voice behind the microphone."
