Youth group celebrates five years in Valley Stream

The Valley Stream Presbyterian Church celebrated five years of the W.A.N.T.E.D. Project on Nov. 17 — a seven-week initiative for young men of color to build self-esteem and learn decision-making skills for dealing with instances of violence and police targeting.

Rev. Kymberley Clemons (KC) Jones came up with the idea for hosting weekly meetings when her son, Jeyson, was attacked and robbed by five youths in March 2011. The program has since grown, and she said she hopes to be able to add a Brooklyn chapter in the near future.

This cycle’s celebrants were Isaiah Bellamy, Marcus Brandon, Myles Brandon, Tayvion Clayton, Elijah Johnson, Elvis Khan, Jordan Lacey, Amari Malcolm, Zefanyah McDonald, Justin Nicks, Jalen Smith, Jaden Stewart, Babatunde Tubosun, Emil Williams and Brandon Whipple.

Jonathan Plummer, a youth leader volunteer at the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York in Jamaica, Queens, who led one of the workshops, presented the young men with thank you notes for investing in the betterment of themselves and the community.

“We want to thank them early and often and be intentional about that, because society is not going to thank them often,” Plummer said.

The young men read selections of poetry and received certificates from Min. Philip Jones, who shared humorous stories of his dealings with the young men over the past several weeks.

Keynote speaker Charles Billups, chairman of the Grand Council of Guardians, shared his inspiring coming of age story, which involved a brush with local gangs and drugs. He took the audience through his corrective behavior, and how he found his faith, only to be diagnosed with stage four multiple myeloma cancer five years ago.

“The doctors said, more or less, they told me I ain’t have much longer to live,” he said. “So I said, you know somethin’? ‘Wow. The Lord is trying to tell me something again.’ But again I always thought I was doing the right thing, without realizing the other consequences that was going on around me.”

Billups said that he saw this as another opportunity to reevaluate his convictions and identity. He stressed the importance of helping others as the young men in the audience navigate adulthood.

“I’ve seen plenty of young men who’ve totally forgotten about servicing our people, and wanting to service themselves,” he said. “And when you get stuck in that mode, you tend to forget about what’s going on around you and you lose the mark.”