This is a guest opinion column

It’s not lost on me that barely a lifetime ago, certain people in power weaponized the Birmingham Police Department against peaceful protestors who looked like me.

Over the last sixty years, that same police department has become a much more accurate reflection of the people who call Birmingham home – with many of those officers having grown up here.

I’ve had people visit my office at City Hall (a floor once occupied by segregationists) who marched in the face of state-sponsored oppression, who overcame hatred, and who (in spite of all that) still have the utmost respect for the men and women currently tasked with keeping our communities safe.

Building and maintaining relationships between law enforcement and our young people in Birmingham is how we are going to build a stronger city – a resilient city built on the conviction that justice and equality are not only for the blessed few, but for all people. That’s more important now than it has been in a long time, it would seem.

This past year, I appropriated $150,000 of my office’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to bring back our Police Athletic Teams Program. This has been a foundational tool for us to be able to have our law enforcement officials step into mentorship roles and engage with young people across the city, who otherwise might not have positive interactions with police.

It’s fair to say that nearly every neighborhood in Birmingham has been positively impacted by PAT, and since it was announced I’ve received dozens of phone calls from people asking how they could get involved.

I know that everyone who has a heart to help may not have the time to volunteer. That’s why in the future I want to partner with local businesses in the City of Birmingham to support PAT through point-of-sale donations. I want people to know that supporting businesses in Birmingham is synonymous with supporting the future of our young people and the contributions our men and women in blue make every single day.

Our first games were played several weeks ago and we’ve seen hundreds of kids take the field. Believe it or not, our newly appointed Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett participated in PAT when he was a kid. And one of the neighborhoods that I represent, Inglenook, has a team that is competing this year

and I couldn’t be more proud of them. This is a neighborhood that needs these kinds of long-term of investments.

A lot has been said recently about the City’s efforts to curb violent crime, especially among our younger residents. I believe that in order to truly make a difference, we have to completely repair our foundation. What I mean by that is the real fruits of our labor will come from this current generation of kids benefiting from the programs we are currently putting in place. Programs that the City Council has supported like PAT, Birmingham Promise, H.E.A.T Curriculum, Safe Havens, Hospital-Based Violence Intervention, are all designed to have a generational impact and pay dividends years from now.

A lot of what we’ve seen in the past years have been crimes of despair; young people who are unable to see their own potential and who do not believe they can build a better life for themselves without violence.

A big part of that has to do with the societal image of police – one rooted in distrust and keeping as much distance from them as possible. We hear it every day over the radio or in the video games our kids play. This has obviously had massive repercussions on our culture and has shaped the lens in which many young people view law enforcement.

We have a lot of work to be done on that front and I believe PAT has an important role to play in repairing those relationships. There are way too many young people whose only interaction with law enforcement is when they’re being stopped, questioned, detained or worse.

I know we can make a positive difference by investing in programs that bridge this gap.

A study conducted by Pew Research Center found that 84 percent of U.S. adults believe community policing improves relationships between officers and residents. This includes programs that facilitate positive interactions like PAT. Because of the level of trust that is gained through these interactions, more residents are willing to call and report a crime – The National Institute of Justice concluded that cities making investments in police-community engagement see upwards of 40 percent higher reporting numbers.

Perhaps most importantly, the American Psychological Association found that youth who are involved in PAT and similar mentorship programs are 75 percent less likely to enter the juvenile justice system.

But we know each victim, each young person breaking the law, and every person who’s been affected by gun violence in America, are much more than a single statistic. They’re part of a depressing ripple that’s expanding daily. Every young person we uplift today has a better chance of becoming a productive citizen, a future leader, and a role model for the generation behind them. True change comes from us collectively stacking wins, and that’s happening on the baseball field this spring with Birmingham police officers and our kids coming together in fellowship to partake in America’s oldest pastime.

To get involved, parents are encouraged to sign their children up for the PAT program at Legion Field Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

JT Moore represents District 4 on the Birmingham City Council.