June 19, 2007

NORRISTOWN – “I was at a point in my life where I was either going to kill a number of people or myself,” wrote Joey Perez, former Philadelphia gang leader and drug dealer, in his book, I Lived to Tell About It. “I made a list of people to kill.”
In his book, Perez tells how he eventually abandoned his life as a gang leader to become a Christian.
Twenty-eight years later, he has become a world-renowned Evangelist who encourages others to make better decisions in their lives.
The Greater Norristown Ministerium, a union of about 40 clergy and congregations in Norristown, is hosting Perez in a series of three community outreach events occurring this week. The goal of these events is to decrease the amount of violence in Norristown by showing alternatives to such behavior.
Brian Akamine, the event coordinator, said they began planning this event in March after meeting Perez for the first time last summer.
The events begin Thursday and continue until Saturday.
Each street meeting will take place in one of Norristown’s high-crime areas because their goal is to appeal to gang members and drug dealers.
“We want to reach out to drug addicts, peoples in potential gangs and criminals,” Akamine said. “Whit (Perez) being a former gang and drug leader, that’s the king of audience we want to reach.”

At the same time, however, Akamine added that they also want to reach out to families, who can help their children no to become involved in this violence, and also the Latino communities.
“We want to be proactive before the gangs become a problem,” Akamine said.
Thursday’s meeting will take place at the Senior Citizens Center at 536 George St., Friday’s meeting will occur at the Thrift way grocery store parking lot at DeKalb and E. Oak Street and Saturday’s meeting will be at the MILK park, across from Simmons Park, between Ash Street and Walnut Street.
At each outreach event, there will be music, free food and clothes to give away to community members in need, provided by members of the 20 participating Ministerium churches.
“We don’t just want to go out there and bring a spiritual message of hope, but also by providing for some of their needs,” Perez said.
There will be 75 grocery bags full of basic staples, such as rice, noodles and soups, each night. The Norristown Ministerium is still seeking monetary donations, which can be mailed to 329 E. Main Street in Norristown, to support the cause.
In a press release, Pastor Byron L. Craig, Ministerium President and pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, said they are excited to have Perez speak because the Ministerium is primarily focused about meeting the needs of the people.

“We are committed to every man, woman, boy and girl in our community,” Craig said in the press release. “We encourage all resident to bring their family members and friends and join us for this life-changing event.”
Akamine said they hope to have a total of 2,500 people attend the events. Last summer, they reached out to more than 1,000 people with a similar outreach activity.
“Together with the community and other community leaders who are concerned with problems of Norristown, we want to work and collaborate together,” Akamine said. “This is our contribution. We want to get to the heart of the matter.”

“We are committed to every man, woman, boy and girl in our community. We encourage all resident to bring their family members and friends and join un for this life-changing event.”

Pastor Byron L. Craig
President, Norristown
Ministerial