Teens create public service announcement warning of dangers of carjacking
At age 14 Nevaeh Rios knows the past is irreversible, that bad decisions lead to ill-fated consequences that can never be undone.
She’ll never be able to change the fact that she was involved in a carjacking that led to four months in juvenile detention and the shame felt by her family.
“When I went into the courtroom… and I seen the expression on my father’s face I could tell he was hurt, embarrassed, disappointed,” the middle school student says in a public service video warning her peers of the dangers of carjacking.
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“Being on the run for so long, not seeing your family, when you finally see them… and they look at you with plenty hurt in their face, you just know you let them down.”
But the eighth-grader knows she can change the direction her life was taking before her detention, and she hopes the two-minute video created by youth from the Running Rebels Community Organization will help steer other young people away from that path.
About a half dozen teens from the Running Rebels have created two videos confronting the issue of carjacking in a campaign called, "Jack a car, jack up your life," in cooperation with UniteMKE and the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention.
The videos will be shared by the organizations through social media, teens' own social media, and hopefully run by TV stations as public service announcements, said Heather Perkins, founder of Ignite Change, a production company that specializes in promoting awareness campaigns for social causes and nonprofit organizations.
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"What makes these so powerful is that the teens not only wanted people to see the consequences of carjacking but also feel them," Perkins said, noting that a second video is shot from a young carjacking participant's physical and emotional point of view.
"There are tragic consequences, and he sees how he hurt his family," she said.
That video also features Nevaeh.
"She turned out to be an amazing actress," Perkins said.
The idea for the anti-carjacking campaign sprang from a brainstorming session held by Running Rebel teen participants.
"The teens themselves chose the issue," Perkins said.
"They were just so engaged and excited to have their voices heard."
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Nevaeh met Shana Kidd, Injury and Prevention Coordinator for the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention, during biweekly discussions held by the office at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center.
The office works in collaboration with the Running Rebels and other community organizations.
"When I first met her she was more like, 'I don’t know you so I don’t want to talk to you'," Kidd recalled.
"She wasn’t very attentive or really wanting to be a part of what I was doing," she said.
"By the time she left detention she was more open, she was participating, raising her hand and asking questions."
"When her demeanor changed others in the group changed," Kidd said.
It was obvious to Kidd Nevaeh had become a leader.
"The girls looked up to her. A lot of times young people don’t realize they have leadership qualities, or they lead people who look up to them in the wrong direction," Kidd said.
Nevaeh said she hopes her participation in the anti-carjacking campaign will lead other teens in the right direction, but, as with her, knows real change must come from within.
"It was just my time," Nevaeh said.
"You can keep trying to encourage kids but if you really want to change you got to do what you got to do."