INDIANAPOLIS — The number of homicides in the Indianapolis continues to climb, and many murders remain unsolved. One man who's a self-described "problem solver" is hoping to make a difference.
Kareem Hines created the New Breed of Youth program and has been transforming lives for 12 years now. He's from Harlem, New York, but after moving the to the Circle City and meeting his wife, Christal, the two set their focus on helping young people off the ropes of life.
“We saw an uptick in gun violence in our city, and we wanted to attack it directly,” Hines said.“That's the inspiration behind the boxing program, "Guns Down, Gloves Up" which allows us to talk to the young men about the effects of gun violence the lifelong effects of gun violence."
He said using guns to solve problems only creates more problems and once the bullet leaves the chamber there's no turning back. Hines explained how boxing is just a way to get young people to reveal their real struggles before things escalate.
“We work on that attitude, with a young man we also work on our aggression and as a therapeutic outlet. These young men come to our program with so much baggage, and when they're able to get into that gym and start punching the pads or doing push-ups or doing sit-ups for just working out after the workout, it becomes a safe place, and then they start to open up about what's going on at home, about what's going on in their lives, about what's going on social media, and that allows the mentor now to use boxing as an avenue into that young man or young lady's psyche to talk about the things that are really troubling them,” Hines added.
The program kicks off its sixth season this Saturday. Click here to sign up.
