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Teens meet homeless over meal Sun-Sentinel December 24, 2006 By: Macollvie Jean- Francois The idea came from a youth who knows about street trouble. Fort Lauderdale ? Jim Hanna, a homeless man tried to hold back his tears inside the makeshift cafeteria at the Broward boys and girls club on Saturday. Tables covered with red and green tablecloths set the holiday tone for the uplifting songs and raps preceding the "Dignity luncheon." Teens from other clubs, churches and activity groups applauded as a bout fifty homeless people strolled into the room to sit down. Teen waiters served their guests warm spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, cut green beans and slices of cake, then bused the tables. "Such giving," set Hanna, 54, who has been attacked at least five times. "It's amazing, they are beautiful." The lunch was the initiative of a teenager, Jerry Gordon, who remembers what it's like to be rebellious, hanging out with other trouble, lawless youth. Gordon, 17, said he felt a kinship earlier this year with the teenagers who are accused of attacking homeless men in Broward County. But he also knew there is something wrong with the violence attributed to his peers. "I felt like I had to do something," said Gordon, at a Reitman unit of Broward boys and girls club member. "They had to be going through something. You don't just get up and beat up somebody." Gordon came up with "homeless beating- the lost ones," a twofold program looking to recruit teens into positive activities and improve the images teenagers and homeless residents have of one another. In early December, the Miami Dolphins foundation and NFL charities awarded him a $5,000 grant to implement his program. Saturday's lunch was the first step. Gordon and 30 other teens served the lunch to homeless men and women. The teens, too, were impressed. "Most of them are good people- very polite and very respectful," said server Rothwell Robertson, 16. "I thought [before] that they were rude. I feel like I'm doing something positive." Gordon's goal of keeping teens away from trouble in paramount. Though now known for being the straight-laced president of northwest Fort Lauderdale's Keystone teen leadership initiative, basketball power forward, and motivating figure, Gordon did have run-ins with the law as a juvenile. The death of his mother, Rochelle Butler, when he was 6, left Gordon looking for comfort and necessities with teens in the northwest area. "Then I felt miserable, said Gordon." "I'm willing to work hard to do whatever it takes not to be back in that situation." When he was 13, Gordon moved in with his aunt Angela St. Hubert. In time, he changed his life and became involved with civic activities. "After all the heartache [and] tears when he was rebellious to me, it's just overwhelming," said St. Hubert. An inspiring journalist and a student at Stranahan high school, Gordon wrote a call to action, encouraging teens to get involved in positive activities. He hoped it will be published in a local newspaper. While typing that project at the club, adults there encouraged him to expand his plan. Gordon ended up researching homelessness online and visiting shelters after school. Then his mentors secretly admitted the 19 page proposal to the Miami Dolphins foundation. "We hope [the program] will go national," said Vernon Dooliug, area director for the boys and girls club. "What Jerry said is we have to try to impact everybody. There is no range, no limit to where it could go." 
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