“There's a Better Way” is the brainchild of Mt Roskill community constable Glen Green, to work with local youth and break down the barriers between police and locals and create pathways for positive changes in their lives.
At the start of the project in January, Mr Green was introduced to Malcolm, an unemployed 19-year-old who had been in trouble with the law.
Mr Green says he asked Malcolm how he could help him, to which Malcolm replied that he wanted to be a fireman, and had never been fishing.
Glenn also arranged for Malcolm to go fishing and also arranged for him to experience first how it is being a fireman. Now Malcolm is a changed personality and works for Gilmours and has severed his gang ties.
"For ex-gang member Fred Tanuvasa, being committed to the project has also started a new phase in his life. He became involved through Malcolm and also went on the fishing trip. "He told me what it was all about and just last minute, I went down there," Fred says. "Everything seemed to all come together.
"It's made a big impact on my life. It's made me a better person, a better husband, a better brother, a better father."
Fred also decided to give up his gang affiliations and is now a mentor for local youngsters.
"It was a time in my life that I needed to do it, not only for my family but for myself and the community," he says. "It's where my heart is now."
He understands how many of the local youth feel and it was one of the main reasons he decided to get on board.
"They should be able to have doors opened for them as well," he says. "The media puts them as the worst kids in Auckland. It's about time they were exposed for the good things they do."
He says There's a Better Way has helped break down the barrier between locals and the police and he feels he is now judged as a person, not as an ex-gang member.
Glen who is the driving force behind this project, is passionate about working with local youth and creating pathways for positive changes in their lives. Local community leader and social worker Ram Rai is also actively assisting Glen in these activities which have made the Wesley area almost crime free – which once used to be a hotbed of criminal and gang related activity.
This project has been declared by the best community project of the year by the Auckland City Council and a certificate and a momento has been awarded to Glen. Local and national politicians including the police minister have visited Glen and are seeking his help to roll out this program on a nationwide basis.
If you want to contribute to this cause of find out how to start this program in your suburb and transform your neighbourhood into relatively crime free by involving the youth, contact Ram Rai on 021655922 or Community Constable Glen Green on 021 810 095.