You are a brave and compassionate soul to place yourself amidst such a tragic waste of young life. I worked for twenty years in public housing communities in one of Canada's largest cities. Tough by Canadian standards but nowhere near as dangerous as what you describe. Much of this work was with young people from every cultural background whose lives could easily end in waste or self-improvement. It was my most rewarding assignment.

Many had witnessed horrific violence. My first attempts with getting young people off to a good start was with employment, however marginal. Because of some very bad urban planning, many young people in public housing don't get to see or interact with men going off to work and bringing home a paycheck. As a result, they only saw dysfunctional adults. I met many wonderful and fantastic young people whose lives began in high risk environments and turned out well. I have no doubt that your interventions with these youth are meaningful to all involved.