Hamilton speaks to St. Mary Parish Council

Once again young people in local communities were the focus of attention at the St. Mary Parish Council meeting on Wednesday as the group continued to grapple with how to stem the tide of violence and poor decision-making choices among youths in the region.
The council had the opportunity on Wednesday to hear from one local community organizer who is set on trying to provide a resource to help young people in the area make better choices. Dr. Gail Hamilton with St. Mary Parish Project Connect said the ongoing effort is dedicated to educating area youths on the value of protecting themselves against contracting sexually transmitted infections and against engaging in other risky behavior.
“We have been asking ourselves, ‘How do we address this problem in a rural community such as St. Mary Parish and how can we be a pilot for other communities?’ We know we have ‘Abstinence First’ in our schools and we believe in that. However, we know that we have to do something else,” Hamilton said. “We are ahead of everyone else on trying to address this at the grassroots level. We can’t expect Congress or the federal government to come in. We have to do this.”
The efforts of Project Connect include reaching out to young people in the area and holding educational events with stakeholders. Hamilton said Project Connect has received positive feedback from the council, law enforcement, other stakeholders and especially young people that have attended the events.
“They want our help,” Hamilton said. “They are interested. They are desperate for help. I think the community is now aware that we need to take our kids back. We are going to take what has worked in the past and expand it. The time is perfect for this.”
In other business, the council elected Councilman Ken Singleton to serve as the group’s representative on the parish Library Board of Control. The position had been vacant since the recent resignation from the council of Steve Bierhorst.