FORT WORTH, Texas — A grassroots crime prevention program is helping a North Texas city cut down on gun violence and gang activity.
Fort Worth pastor and community leader Rodney McIntosh started V.I.P. about five years ago. It stands for Violence, Intervention & Prevention.
VIP recruits young men ages 12 to 29 to keep them out of trouble.
McIntosh recruits men for the program who he calls OGs (Old Gangsters) who used to be gang members or have had run-ins with the law including incarceration. Their job is to mentor younger men who have a criminal history.
Anthony Washington is one of the VIP Mentors who advises younger men headed down the wrong path.
"Stay away from the streets. Do not do what I did and what I went through," Washington said.
Washington turned his back on a life of crime. Now he enjoys throwing a lifeline to others despite some of the peer pressure that some might find discouraging.
"I get criticized, I get talked about, homeboys laugh at me. Some salute me though. Some say you are washed up now. But none of that matters, because they are the ones that really matter," Washington said.
People like, Lil Dave who Washington mentors, strive to be and do better each day. In most cases, when you see Washington, you will also see Lil Dave.
"They want to see me do better," Lil Dave said.
Their mentor and mentee relationship is one of many in the VIP Program. Washington stepped in after Lil Dave's time in prison.
"Check up on him three times a day, to make sure he's good, they get where they going like to a job, whatever they need like a GED, a driver's license, anything that could help them better themselves," Washington said.
Life is better for Lil Dave now. He said he values having a mentor he trusts and shares a special bond with because they've been on a similar journey.
"We were locked up together. He got a taste of it," said Washington, "We both did the penitentiary together. We were cellmates, everything fell in part, and I know that God wanted me with him."
Fort Worth City leaders awarded VIP $100,000 in funding. It helps pay for weekly wrap sessions that both mentors and mentees are required to attend. During the wrap sessions mentor are responsible for giving their mentees hope and connecting with them.
In the room where the wrap sessions take place, there are reminders and motivators posted on the wall that read daily check-ins, Life Map Allowance, Internship Opportunities, Life Map Goals, Elder Circle, Social Services Navigation, and Transformative Travel.
VIP Mentors are also responsible for sparking conversations with mentees about conflict resolution. Their conversations are raw and real. The mentees open up to talk about other traumas they are dealing with that could result in gang activity, crime, and violence.
But topics like goal setting, education, success, and dreams are also hot topics.
Twenty-eight-year-old Roderick Jenkins got into some trouble that resulted in arrest and time spent in jail. He is now one of the mentees who is getting his life back on track. He shares some of his successes with fellow VIP mentee James Simmons who is newer to the program and just connected with a mentor.
"My mentor, I just recently been incarcerated, he went through the same thing, but he did more time. So, when he called me and told me about the class, I was looking forward to it," said Roderick James. "It's like a therapy to me."
"Some days I only feel like doing nothing, but my mentor isn't just a mentor, he is like an uncle or something, he really cares," James Simmons said.
VIP Founder Rodney McIntosh has used some of his own money and funds from small donations to help keep the program afloat.
McIntosh believes mentors who have been in trouble themselves relate better to mentees in the program. But more importantly, reducing gun violence in Fort Worth is also personal for McIntosh.
"I lost my brother in 2017 to gun violence. I lost a cousin in 2020 to gun violence. I've watched people in my family not be able to move from that moment to trauma," McIntosh said.
McIntosh is convinced VIP is making a difference pointing to a drop in gang violence. Fort Worth police said from January 2024 to June 2024 they investigated zero gang-related shootings compared to 25 that time last year.