Latest news with #Adjei
CBS News
01-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
CASA Sacramento seeks volunteers to support foster kids
SACRAMENTO – May 1 is Big Day of Giving, an annual fundraiser that inspires people in the community to donate to local nonprofits. One group taking part in the event is CASA Sacramento, an organization that serves foster care youth with trained volunteers who can make a big difference in their lives. "The saying is, 'It takes a village,' and it does take a village, and I do think that I'm part of that village," said Renee Hackett, a CASA Volunteer. Hackett took on the role after retiring three years ago. "I decided that's what I wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to make a difference in a child's life." CASA stands for Court-Appointed Special Advocate. The trained volunteers are appointed by a judge and work closely with foster youth. "Support them," Hackett said. "Help them realize their potential. Help cultivate that potential." Together, they spend quality time like playing sports, grabbing a bite to eat, or just hanging out. But the main job of a CASA is to champion for abused and neglected children in court. "We file reports every six months," Hackett said. "We do provide feedback when asked during court proceedings." "The kids are great," said Victor Adjei, another CASA volunteer. He sees what foster youth are up against and knows the impact he can have on a child's life. "I think what's more challenging is the circumstances that they're in," Adjei said. "A big part is them understanding that they're loved, you know that they belong." In Sacramento County, there are approximately 1,100 kids in the foster care system. This year, CASA Sacramento has 150 active volunteers supporting 15% of the foster youth population. "I don't think that there are enough services, individuals reaching out to build a relationship with these kids," Adjei said. "I think that's where CASA steps in." And for these kids who often move from home to home, CASA volunteers can be a lifeline. "The CASA is the most consistent person in that child's life, and I think that's a lot. That means a lot for a child," Hackett said. CASA Sacramento is looking for volunteers of all genders and educational backgrounds.
The Independent
20-03-2025
- The Independent
MP: Drill music celebration of criminality pushing knife crime into mainstream
The celebration of criminality by drill musicians is contributing to the 'toxic' culture which is pushing knife crime into the mainstream, the Commons heard. Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty accused the press, including the BBC, the Times and the Guardian, of validating gangs' use of music and videos to promote stabbings and taunt their opponents. He also criticised the 'hypocrisy' of brands such as Adidas, who continue to use convicted criminals in its advertising, whilst also conducting campaigns against knife crime. The success of drill rappers who have criminal convictions could suggest to some there is no consequence for carrying a knife, the MP for Huntingdon said. Mr Obese-Jecty said young black men are over represented in knife crime statistics as both the victims and perpetrators, adding that 'soft bigotry of low expectations makes black culture ripe for exploitation, as a cheap way to appear edgy, irrespective of the upstream impact'. Speaking in the Commons, he said: 'Whilst drill music is a genre, it is also the medium by which various groups, come gangs are able to taunt their ops. The catalyst for multiple stabbings, often fatal. 'The line between gang and a group are blurred at points of irrelevance. Meanwhile, the media either doesn't know or doesn't care. 'Inner city black youths are, whether consciously or unconsciously, expendable and interchangeable, over represented in statistics as both victim and perpetrator. The soft bigotry of low expectations makes black culture ripe for exploitation as a cheap way to appear edgy, irrespective of the upstream impact. 'But media, large corporations, even the BBC, play their part in the creation of this milieu, leaning into it and giving it validation. 'The cynical valorisation of the most detrimental aspects of urban black culture and the celebration of criminality via musicians is one of the most toxic overarching influences on how we have pushed this issue into the mainstream. 'Irving Adjei, aka Headie One, went to prison three times as a teenager, amongst them for dealing crack cocaine and heroin. 'In June 2019, Adjei was arrested for possession of a knife following a stop and search. 'Whilst on bail, Adjei completed his UK tour, released his album, which reached number five in the UK charts, appeared on Stormzy's album Heavy Is The Head, played Glastonbury and was featured on BBC Radio One, was used in an advertising campaign alongside heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for JD sports, and also fronted an advertising campaign for Adidas that December. 'That's the same Adidas who ran their No More Red knife crime awareness campaign alongside Arsenal FC just a couple of miles down the road, shortly after that, but are also happy to run an advertising campaign with a rapper on bail for possession of a knife. 'The hypocrisy of brands like Adidas is off the scale. 'Less than a month after launching this Adidas promo, Adjei was sentenced to six months with possession of that knife and went to prison for a fourth time. 'He was released that April. 'Six months later, his single is number two in the charts, and he's having praise lavished upon him by The Times newspaper, and he's never looked back. 'How does this convince anybody that there is … any penalty whatsoever for carrying a knife? 'If anything, it's been an asset for someone like him, the edginess I referred to earlier.' During the debate on knife crime, Mr Obese-Jecty criticised the Guardian for an article it wrote in 2019 about drill group OFB. OFB member Jayden O'Neil Crichlow is one of five people convicted of murdering 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck in Wood Green, north London, in February 2019. The MP said this occurred 300 metres from his home at the time, before saying: 'I challenged the author of the piece as to why it was appropriate to write a puff piece about a group that had one member on remand for murder. 'He cited that it was an editorial decision by the Guardian.' 'This is precisely the type of irresponsible media valorisation that illustrates my point,' he added. Another member of OFB, Kemani Duggan, the son of Mark Duggan who was shot dead by police in 2011, was jailed in 2024 for five years for having a gun. Labour MP Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) said her nephew had been stabbed recently, turning her family's world 'upside down'. She said: 'My nephew, a kind-hearted, wonderful young man was brutally attacked in an act of senseless knife violence. His crime was being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. While his wounds are healing, it will take months for him to fully recover. The emotional trauma inflicted on him, and in our family however, is immeasurable. 'This is a pain no pain no family should ever have to endure.' Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson thanked MPs for their contributions and outlined the work being under taken by the Government to tackle knife crime. On the suggestion of rounded tips for kitchen knives, Dame Diana said: 'Nothing is off the table when it comes to tackling the scourge of knife crime and saving young lives. 'The Home Office is considering a proposal brought to us on rounded kitchen knives.'
