Hashim Garrett, Carlene Anderson's son-in-law, has worked with the Guardian Angels and Curtis Sliwa, its founder, for several years. Hashim is president and founder of Wisdom and Understanding LLC. He uses his testimony and a message of forgiveness to motivate young people to make better choices than he made as a teenager while growing up in Brooklyn, NY. His primary goal is to educate students about the threat of acquaintance violence, which often results from seemingly harmless encounters between individuals after a minor disagreement.
At Carlene’s request, Hashim visited PS #12. He shared a gripping account of how he was shot multiple times in his back when he was only 15 years old by another neighborhood teenager. As a result of his injuries, he was rendered a paraplegic. During the October 2010 Violence Awareness assembly, Hashim entered the caf-a-gym-a-torium with the assistance of his leg brace and crutches. An overwhelming silence filled the room as students stared in disbelief at this finely dressed young man. With impressive poise, Hashim held the students’ rapt attention and made a deliberate effort to stand before them to deliver a message they will not soon forget. He later asked the students (Grades 3-8) if they knew of any neighborhood gangs and if they've ever seen or touched a gun that did not belong to a police officer.
He was alarmed at the number of hands that shot up in the affirmative.
Hashim reported this experience to Curtis Sliwa, prompting Sliwa to extend an invitation to anyone in Paterson who would reach out to him. He would be willing to discuss the feasibility of the Guardian Angels' presence in Paterson to work in tandem with law enforcement and members of the community.
In November 2010, PS #12 held its 1st Marking Period report card night. Carlene had been especially looking forward to meeting Jaheim, her Student-of-the-Month, and his parents to discuss his progress.
Much to Carlene’s dismay, Jaheim's mom appeared hurriedly, dressed in black, and begging to skip the line because she was on her way to a funeral. She was unable to stay and discuss Jaheim's progress...just to pick up his report card.
The 19 year old son of a family friend had been gunned down, robbing Jaheim of an opportunity to shine!
Although outraged, Carlene could only express her condolences, and after handing the report card to Jaheim’s mother, shed a tearful regret at the irony of the situation.
Shortly thereafter, Carlene took Mr. Sliwa up on his offer. After several attempts to establish a meeting time, the long anticipated encounter was scheduled for January 25, 2011 at Mayor Jeffrey Jones’ office. At
last, the Paterson Public Safety Coalition Meeting was taking shape. Attendees included: Mayor Jones, Police and Fire Director Brown, Passaic County Sheriff Berdnik, Municipal Council Members Davis and Ames, PPS Superintendent Evans and School Board President Best, Community Activist Al Moody, local clergymen Imam Katanani and Pastor Matthew Bennett, Curtis Sliwa and Hashim Garrett in addition to three other members of the Guardian Angels.
At the head of the conference table, sat Carlene Anderson. She introduced her students, who were in attendance via Skype! The meeting began with her presentation of “Violence Awareness in Our Own Words,” a digital story of how her students have been affected by gun violence. This ignited a heated discussion about community safety in the City of Paterson.
In April 2011, Curtis Sliwa joined Mayor Jones and local law enforcement for a walk-through of Paterson streets. There is a renewed commitment to ensure public safety by such groups as BAND, Band Against Neighborhood Destruction, with whom Carlene has aligned her efforts to ensure her students’ safety. It is absolutely imperative for there to be on-going dialogue if an impact is to be experienced in lowering the effects of violence on the streets of Paterson. Mrs. Anderson and her students are working steadfastly toward this end.
Jaheim's account of his family friend's death is
chronicled in the "Violence Awareness in Our
Own Words" digital story.