Maria Baptiste

“I wanted to stop, but I just didn’t know how to. There were times I would say, ‘All right, I done with that.’ Then my friends would come and say, ‘We have a hot car and a scene to go on.’ When I checked my pocket, I had nothing. So I ended up going with them.”

Those are the words of rehabilitated Mr. Grant, but they could just as easily be the words of countless young men caught between doing the right thing and trying to survive.

We would ask, “Why don’t they just stop?”
But what is waiting for them when they do? What support systems exist to help them choose a different path and stay on it?

Some young men come from homes where there wasn’t food, electricity or water. Some are raised by grandparents, other relatives or older siblings. Some have learning disabilities that go unsupported. Others experience neglect, abuse, violence, or relentless bullying.

And while many parents make extraordinary sacrifices for their children, we also have to acknowledge another reality, not every child grows up with positive role models. Some children are raised in environments where violence is normal, where hatred and prejudice are taught, where criminal behaviour is accepted, and where poor decisions are modelled every single day. Children learn what they live. We cannot expect them to know a different path if no one has ever shown them one.

For some, gangs offered the one thing they had never experienced before, a sense of belonging.

That is why I continue to advocate for programmes like MILAT.

It was never about rewarding delinquency. It was about transforming behaviour before it became criminality. It was about meeting young people where they were, not where society expects them to be.

Programmes like MILAT provided discipline, counselling, mentorship, education, vocational training, and, hope. It gave young men the opportunity to rewrite their stories.

That is why I believe suspending this programme is a short-sighted mistake.
We cannot continue investing almost exclusively in responding to crime. We must invest in preventing it. Taxpayers already fund the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre. Taxpayers fund prisons, policing, court proceedings, and the enormous financial and social costs of crime.

Do we invest in our children before they commit crime so they can contribute meaningfully to society, or do we wait and invest in prisons after they have?

Crime prevention is not an expense, it is an investment.

If there is a better or more cost-effective model, then pursue it. Improve it. Strengthen it.
But don’t remove hope before you have built something better.

When we stop investing in our youth, we don’t save money, we simply postpone the cost and eventually, our families and communities pay the price.

All teachers and civilian staff from MiLAT were sent home today.
Our young men have almost nothing left. 😮‍💨
So, what is the crime plan?
Programmes like CCC and MiLAT were preventative measures. They gave young men structure, purpose, mentorship, and a chance to choose a different path.
If these programmes continue to disappear, what are we replacing them with?
What is left for our youths? What opportunities are we creating to keep them engaged, hopeful, and on the right track?
We cannot remove support systems without presenting a clear alternative.
I know first hand the impact these programmes have on young people and I am extremely concerned about its removal.