The two young men who are likely the latest homicide victims of B.C.\u2019s gang wars were just kids.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Kal Dosanjh, founder and CEO of Kids Play Foundation, wants people to remember about the two teenagers killed in Surrey on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kids are human beings, and they\u2019re all good kids, good kids that eventually end up taking the wrong path, but all of them were kids before they became a headline,\u201d said Dosanjh, who knew one of the two slain teens.<\/p>\n
KidsPlay Foundation started in 2015 when Dosanjh \u2013 who has worked with the Vancouver Police Department for more than 25 years \u2013 saw a need to keep kids out of gangs. The foundation was built on two principles: one, that all programs would be free of charge, and two, it would build community leaders.<\/p>\n
Police responded to calls of a shooting in an underground parking lot in Surrey\u2019s Newton neighbourhood around 10 p.m. on Sunday (May 10).<\/p>\n
Police found two young males, 16 and 18 years old, suffering from gunshot wounds. Both died at the scene.<\/p>\n
Police believe that homicides are related to the B.C. gang conflict, and IHIT\u2019s Sgt. Freda Fong said that, despite their youth, the two victims did have \u201cprevious interactions with police.\u201d<\/p>\n
CALL FOR HELP<\/p>\n
About three years ago, Dosanjh received a call from a worried mother seeking help for her son.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew the influences around him were dangerous, and she didn\u2019t want to lose her child to the streets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dosanjh took the young man under his wing, and he became a regular at KidsPlay programs, helping out wherever he could, often playing soccer with the younger kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kid was tremendous, absolutely incredible, intelligent, strong, focused, driven, and ambitious. He had so many good qualities that would have made him a tremendous leader within the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dosanjh recalled one time at a KidsPlay summer camp when the teen picked up a little girl he had gotten to know, put her on his shoulders, and ran around, laughing together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that moment, you saw the innocence still inside him. The kids adored him,\u201d Dosanjh said.<\/p>\n
He took the time to help her prepare for a spelling bee, and after it was over, she ran straight to him instead of to her parents, gave him a big hug, and thanked him for his help, Dosanjh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very protective of her, and he went out of his way to make sure that she would be on the path to success,\u201d Dosanjh said.<\/p>\n
Dosanjh could see that this young man had built strong connections with this little girl and other kids in the program, and that he was transforming and evolving as a teen.<\/p>\n
But at the same time, he continued to be pulled back into the street lifestyle.<\/p>\n
This young man was well-loved and grew up in a single-parent home, Kal said. \u201cHis mom had instilled good values and principles in him. He had a heart, he was kind, compassionate and empathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
This young man had a loving mother who went \u201cabove and beyond\u201d to care for her son but had gone through extensive trauma in life. His mom did everything she could to raise her son well, but she lacked a support network as she was working multiple jobs to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved her very much, and he wanted the best for her. And I think that was another part of this, that they were probably offering him money and telling him that if you have any financial concerns, come work with us. We\u2019ll take care of your financial needs, and your mom can retire,\u201d Dosanjh said.<\/p>\n
Dosanjh warned him that this was a trap, and told him that there are only two ways out of gangs: that you end up in jail or dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was standing at a crossroads and it was either that I stay on the good side, I work hard, my mom continues to struggle, and eventually, at some point in time, when I got my education, get my job, then I can help her, which is a long-term plan, versus where they\u2019re offering him short-term success,\u201d Dosanjh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you know what, run your own drug lines, make easy cash, and you can buy your cars, your house, you\u2019ll be wealthy, you\u2019ll be independent, and we\u2019ll give you the acceptance and identity that you\u2019re looking for. You\u2019re part of our brotherhood. We\u2019ll take care of you, and they\u2019re so for us, yet these guys take care of nobody but themselves. And that\u2019s exactly it. They were just going to use them as another statistic, which he was at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reality is that the gangs do not care, Dosanjh said. \u201cThere is going to be no tears shed over his death (by the gangsters).\u201d<\/p>\n
THESE ARE JUST KIDS<\/p>\n
They were just kids, Dosanjh stresses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the public realizes that these are not some crazy, deranged, hard-core gangsters,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt so hurt to lose this one. He had a lot of potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
In moments like these, it is easy for the public to point the finger and say, \u201cIt\u2019s your problem, you should have known better.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Dosanjh said the real question is who took the time to mentor these kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to invest the time and energy and commit ourselves to mentoring them,\u201d he said. Families also have to ask for help.<\/p>\n
There is often a lot of stigma, especially in the South Asian community, if your kids are involved in drugs and gangs, where families \u201cdon\u2019t want to air their dirty laundry,\u201d and just hope for the best instead of seeking help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf these kids are involved in this lifestyle, you need help, as this mom did. She had the wherewithal and the understanding that she needed help, and I know the right platform for it. So she came to us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were doing our part, and we went above and beyond to make sure that this kid has all the other resources he needs to be successful in life. But we can\u2019t be with (the gangs) 24\/7, especially when those guys are offering lots of cash, what do you do? How do you compete with that?\u201d<\/p>\n
IT STARTS AT HOME<\/p>\n
Dosanjh\u2019s message to parents is that the home environment is \u201cabsolutely critical to their child\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen examples time and time and time and time again, where all the hard-core gangsters that I call from the South Asian community or in other gangs, whether it\u2019s United Nations, Brothers Keepers, Red Scorpions, it was always the home environment that was the one where the issues began,\u201d Kal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the prime pillars and building blocks to a child\u2019s development is where they grow, and if they have a solid base and they\u2019re insulated with good principles, values, then it\u2019s very rare that they\u2019ll steer in that wrong direction when they\u2019re approached. And the other thing is keeping kids connected with positive activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the premise of KidsPlay: keeping kids connected through positive activities such as mentorship programs, social counselling, sports, and educational programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re constantly bombarding these kids with positive programming so that they have the right company around them, and they have the right influences around them, and they\u2019re taught good things and good values are being instilled in them, and then they\u2019ll stay on the right track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n