We urge you to avoid the pitfall of letting the project consume such time as is available. Yes, it is true in many Virginia communities, we are moving forward with prevention activities. Because the fabric of our society is threatened. No generation of parents before us had to live with shooting in the schools, gangs, drugs and alcohol and dozens of other risk behaviors. But resources are scarce.
Volunteers are hard to find in a society which is united by two-earner families.
We must target, focus, and drive hard when the threat is greatest and where we can win positive results. We urgently need the data. And as we build more prevention, we need to measure our results. Waiting for the local youth crime statistics is frustrating and undesirable. We want to know before a youth becomes a statistic.