On "Real News with Rick Outzen" this Morning at 7:10

I'll be on the area's best and most highly rated morning drive news program, Real News with Rick Outzen, later this morning at 7:10

Rick Outzen, host of the area's best and highest rated, most informative and timely morning drive radio show,  "Real News with Rick Outzen" on AM 1370 wCOA, has asked me to come on later this morning at 7:10 to discuss the upcoming sheriff's roundtable on gun violence in the area.

We will talk about this post from my blog yesterday on the topic I am sure--- and we may also talk other topics like consolidation and/or charter government for the county and my feeling on these topics.

Should be in interesting conversation.

Tune in at 7:10 for the show, and I'll post the podcast here later today once Rick publishes it.

Thoughts on the Roundtable......

Needed:  Honest, courageous, and productive conversations at the roundtable on Tuesday....

Sheriff Chip Simmons has empaneled a group of community leaders to hold a round table discussion this Tuesday regarding a deadly double-shooting in District 1 two weeks back. I applaud his leadership in taking this bull by the horns.  The conversation will be about the levels of violence in the community as well--not just this particular shooting.  I am honored to have been invited to participate, and I look forward to Tuesday.

In the lead up to the event, I have given three media interviews on this topic, after having been asked my opinion on what, if anything, should be done to focus on the violence in our community that leads to these tragic events like the murder that happened in Bellview.  Two of the pieces have subsequently been published and I believe the third will be published this week in the lead up to the roundtable. 

The violence, the gun crimes, and the gangs+drugs issues we see growing in our community are symptoms of a bigger problem that few are willing to discuss: The loss of the family unit in growing pockets of our community.  This dissolution of the in-tact family unit leaves many young men with no strong role model and disciplinarian in the house to deal with issues that invariably arise in child rearing through formative years.

The single biggest predictor of whether or not a young man in America will become entangled in the criminal justice system is whether or not a father was/is in the home where such a young man is/was raised.  But to some, such discussions are verboten for political correctness' sake.

Imagine, as my friend Tom Danheisser posited in his hard-hitting, prescient op-ed on this topic last year, if we were trying to cure lung cancer but we could not talk about cigarette smoking?  He knows what I know and he has seen it in his courtroom as has my brother in his courtroom:  Fatherless families produce children who are at a much higher risk of committing crimes, being prosecuted, and ultimately ending up in prison.  (And lending creedence to the media's reticence to discuss root causes of the crimes, drugs, and gangs issues in Pensacola/Escambia County that produce the carnage we see locally--I'm told the Dannheisser op-ed was also sent to the PNJ last year in May of 2021--but their editorial team refused to print it.  Too much truth I suppose.....)

So this conversation Tuesday has to have a few guideposts if it is to be successful:

1.  We must realize the long term solution will take decades.

2.  We must realize the problem is not the police.

3.  We must have the courage to speak truth and use irreputable facts and figures to buffet our positions.

4.  We must realize no matter what we do we cannot and will not be able to save every young person from descending into a life of crime.

From my perspective, in order to actually accomplish a worthwhile outcome and trajectory toward

Pensacola's Faith-Based Community Comes through For Students and Families!

Many who come to Pensacola/Escambia County for the first time, or folks that move here from other places, marvel at the robust faith-based community here.  It is incredible.  And this community of faith does great things for the citizens---in a multitude of spaces including healthcare, mental health, family counseling, student support, and family support.  This community of faith also does much to assist those who find themselves down on their luck, homeless, or in despair.

A striking example of the generosity of the faith based community was on display this Saturday in District 1 at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds.

Pastor Tim Fox of Jubilee Church, Transformation Church, and literally hundreds of volunteers and community support groups descended upon the fairgrounds for one combined, important mission:  Supporting students and families as we prepare for the start of the next school year.

--More than 2-dozen area barbers donated their time and skill to provide free haircuts for students

--Feeding the Gulf Coast, with a generous gift from Healthcare Solutions, Inc. donated 35,000 pounds of food for families and students.

--Jubilee church provided more than 1,300 free backpacks for students

--multiple other entities teamed up to provide school supplies and other giveaways for the students and families that attended this 3-hour event Saturday morning.

Yes, our area has challenges and they are numerous (generational poverty, social dysfunction that is generational, crime, drug abuse, child abuse, high incarceration rates in some communities,  blight, apathy) ---but with the help of fantastic and dedicated community volunteers and faith-based organizations---there are weapons in the fight to make our community better.

I am thankful for the generous, giving spirit of our gracious and selfless community volunteers and specifically--the faith-based community.

Where would this community be without such entities and individuals?