reported<\/a> by The Dallas Express.<\/p>\nA new purpose after trial<\/p>\n
Metcalf said the idea for the foundation came after the trial concluded. He realized he could not return to his 25-year real estate career because of safety concerns and the public attention surrounding the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed something that was going to be fulfilling, something that had purpose, something that was God-driven through me,\u201d Metcalf told The Dallas Express.<\/p>\n
Metcalf said he and Dr. Bruce Carter spent four hours mapping out the foundation\u2019s mission on what he described as a napkin. Within weeks, they had formed the organization, launched a website, created merchandise, established social media pages and begun planning speaking engagements.<\/p>\n
The foundation will focus on teaching impulse control, conflict resolution and de-escalation while also providing scholarships, educational workshops and outreach programs for schools, churches, colleges, parents, coaches and community organizations.<\/p>\n
Metcalf said the organization seeks to prevent young people from making impulsive decisions that can permanently alter countless lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can just save one kid\u2019s life, just one life, man, that\u2019d be great,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I want it to go way further than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parents must lead<\/p>\n
He believes parents play the most important role in preventing youth violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeachers are there to give your kids an education, knowledge,\u201d Metcalf said. \u201cParents, your job is to instill values, morals, right from wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
One moment of poor judgment can devastate not only two families but entire communities, Metcalf said.<\/p>\n
Metcalf also condemned the hateful rhetoric that emerged online following the case, including attacks directed at both Austin and the teenager convicted in his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are 17-year-old kids. You\u2019re grown adults. You need to act like it,\u201d Metcalf said, adding that parents who engage in hateful behavior risk teaching those same attitudes to their children.<\/p>\n
Rejecting political and racial division<\/p>\n
The foundation also reflects Metcalf\u2019s belief that the tragedy involving Austin should never have become politically or racially divisive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said from day one, first interview, please don\u2019t make this about race, and please don\u2019t politicize it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Metcalf said he continues to judge people by their character rather than the color of their skin and believes the incident was always about right and wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was never a race issue. This was never a political issue,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was a right and wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Metcalf said he hopes the foundation\u2019s message reaches every corner of Texas and eventually expands beyond the state. He wants to help young people resolve conflicts before they turn violent.<\/p>\n
For Metcalf, honoring Austin\u2019s memory now means ensuring other families never have to endure the pain his family continues to carry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carlos Turcios interviews Jeff Metcalf about the Austin Metcalf Foundation, which was launched to honor Metcalf\u2019s son and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,115271,139451,133,139448,139449,240,115270,139450],"class_list":["post-396923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-metcalf","tag-austin-metcalf-foundation","tag-austin-news","tag-conflict-resolution","tag-de-escalation","tag-frisco","tag-jeff-metcalf","tag-youth-violence-prevention"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}