POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Jeffrey Williams grew up in a housing project in a Lakeland neighborhood not far from the hospital.
“You had prostitutes, a lot of drugs, a lot of violence,” Williams remembered Friday as he stood on the sidewalk of W 5th Street.
Since then, the neighborhood has improved but not completely, and Williams points to what happened last week just blocks from where he grew up.
Officials arrested a 13-year-old who they say shot and injured a Lakeland Police Department officer. The suspect was eventually taken into custody after the officer returned fire.
"They’re trying to kill cops who are trying to stop them from killing people in the neighborhood,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd
This week, another teen was arrested for another shooting. It happened south of Lakeland, miles from Williams’ neighborhood, but it caught his attention nevertheless.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a 15-year-old attempted to rob a McDonald’s employee behind the location on Shepherd Road. The sheriff’s office says the suspect fired three shots at a car occupied by two people who were instructed by the employee to 911.
Both recent incidents are part of the reason Williams runs a summer camp and after-school program called Risk Club, using space provided by the Dream Center of Lakeland, which is located in the neighborhood where Williams grew up.
“God ordained me to do what I do, and it’s an amazing journey,” he said. “It’s an amazing ride.”
His club exposes at-risk young people to fun field trips and games, but it also teaches them the academic, social, and career skills they’ll need to be successful.
“We keep their time occupied,” he said.
Williams said many of the club’s former members have gone on to turn their lives around and become doctors, realtors, lawyers, and business leaders.
According to Williams, the nonprofit serves, in one form or another, about a thousand young people each year.
He believes the mentorship fills a void as traditional institutions — like the family unit, schools, and churches — erode and leave young people at risk of abusing drugs and committing crimes.
"If I don't spend time with them, guess what? The drug dealers will spend time with them. You know, the crime lords will spend time with them. The gangbangers will spend time with them,” he said.
Despite the work his nonprofit does in Lakeland, Williams said it isn’t enough in a county that’s growing daily.
Looking at Polk County as a whole, Williams estimates that his Risk Club helps less than one percent of the young people who need help. There are few similar programs — and maybe none in certain corners of the county.
“You just need more activities and more structure,” he said.
Without more positive influence, Williams says the negative will fill the void.
Risk Club will host its annual summer camp from June 5 to July 28. To learn more about the nonprofit, including how you can help further its mission, click here.
