Aiken teen chose not to be in a gang

[The Streets Don't Love You Back]

AIKEN, S.C. - An outreach program in Aiken, called "One Degree," has chosen the mission of stopping local teens from becoming gang members and life-long prisoners.

The youth director of the non-profit program, Andrew McCaskill, is trying to change the lives of teens that have turned to joining gangs.

The program is one of several offered by McCaskill’s church, Christ Central Ministries.

“We’re seeking out kids that have already crossed some boundaries. We’ve gone to the Department of Juvenile Justice and said ‘hey we’d like to have high-risk kids,'” McCaskill said.

The "One Degree" program has been helping Aiken teens for about two years.

Alphonso Googe, 19, is a graduate of the program.

Googe says he got involved with "One Degree" after years of being pressured to join a gang by friends and even some of his family.

“Some kids believe they don’t have a family; gangs will tell you they’re your family and they’ll be with you, and if you go to jail none of them who called themselves your family will come visit you, but your real family will,” Googe said.

After graduating from the class, Googe says now he wants to help change the lives of people like him.

The "One Degree" program is a 10-week, rehabilitation program. McCaskill says they’re now working with their third group.

“We would have seven, but one of them was involved in a shooting and is in the hospital,” McCaskill said.

That teen was shot in what investigators say was a gang-related shooting in Crosland Park on March 13. That teen was Googe's cousin.

“Nowadays so many kids are in gangs;” Googe said, “they’ll have you do things you would never do.”

After graduating from the program and participating in other programs offered by Christ Central, Googe discovered that he wants to be a teacher.

“I love kids,” Googe said.

McCaskill says a good education reduces a child’s involvement with gangs. He also mentioned South Carolina has the lowest graduation rate in the United States.

The "One Degree" program has been helping kids in Aiken for about 2 years. Now they're trying to start a program in Richmond County to reach out to more teens.

For more information on how to donate or volunteer you can email McCaskill at: [e-mail].

Or you can go to http://www.fullcirclerefuge.org to learn about other juvenile justice programs in Georgia-Carolina.