Jermaine works for Project Ujima – a children’s hospital violence intervention program. It started when a nurse kept treating the same kid for violent injuries. After three or four trips the kid stopped coming back – because he had died on the street. Jermaine is breaking the cycle of violence in Milwaukee one kid at a time.

Project Ujima is dedicated to stopping the cycle of violent crimes through crisis intervention and case management, social and emotional support, youth development and mentoring, and mental health and medical services.

Project Ujima will hold its thirteenth annual summer camp for youth victims of violence in July. Kids come together in a safe place to learn from workshops and activities, including hip-hop therapy. To learn more, contact Gerry Steele (gsteele@chw.org), Children’s Hospital.

21 year old Matt Voit (right) was 16 when violent injuries landed him in the ER. Jermaine Belcher (left) works for Project Ujima and helped Matt recover. (Photo by Emily Forman)