Samual Cruz has a vision.
“If I can reach just one young person and
show him or her there is an alternative to drugs and violence, then that’s all
that matters,” he said.
Cruz is the director of the new International
Youth Center, an ambitious project that targets at-risk Conroe teens by
providing wholesome alternatives, and a place where youth can congregate to
strengthen their bodies, minds and hearts.
He is transforming
the old county hospital on S. 1st street into the new center. The
location is right in the middle of the problem, surrounded by crack houses, gang
activities, and prostitution.
The first project
underway is an Activity Center for teenagers. The center will offer a variety of
activities targeting teens, including pool tables, pinball machines and ping
pong tables indoors, and volley ball and basketball equipment outdoors. Concerts
featuring Christian Rap music and Christian Alternative Rock will also be
scheduled, including a benefit concert Friday night.
“A lot of the music the kids listen to
promotes violence and sex. This music has the same sound, but is an alternative
to that,” Cruz said.
That’s just the
beginning, though. Cruz thinks big. His vision for the International Youth
Center includes offering a homeless shelter, residential treatment center, GED
training and literacy counseling, AIDS counseling, and a computer lab.
Cruz has spent his life reaching out to people
in need. A pastor who has established traditional churches, Cruz now devotes his
efforts to ministry. His work in prison ministries is what led him to this
current mission.
“I worked in the women’s and men’s prisons,
but it was always the youth that broke my heart,” he said. “I counseled one
youth from Conroe, Michael, who is incarcerated in Brazoria County. I’ve known
him since he was ten years old. I was stunned to find him in prison. He was
incarcerated when he was 15. He’s now 22. His youth is gone.
“I asked him what happened. He said ‘I did
some crazy things…I got involved with a gang and drugs.’”
Cruz said that’s how it is with most of the
youth in prison. Many are incarcerated for drug possession or dealing. Even the
ones who are incarcerated for violent crimes committed the crimes as a result of
their drug use.
“When kids are addicted to drugs and they
don’t have any, they’ll do anything to get them,” Cruz said. “They’ll do stuff
they never would do if it weren’t for the drugs.”
Cruz believes that incarceration doesn’t help
these kids. Instead it teaches them to be harder criminals. Prevention is the
key. If prevention fails, then treatment is the answer.
Cruz wants to catch kids before they reach
that point. He says he wants to be a “speed bump” in their path. Cruz said these
kids are often called throwaway kids or castaways.
“I want to show these kids that they were
created for a greater purpose, that there are alternatives to gangs and drugs,
something better,” he said. That’s why he’s focusing on an Activity Center, as
the first project of the International Youth Center.
The center is already offering martial arts
classes on Tuesday afternoons and a Bible study at the request of some teens
involved with the group. There will also be other activities available in the
near future.
Cruz plans to invite youth from area Church
groups to participate in the center’s activities and intermingle with the
troubled youth--not to preach, but to befriend them. All activities will be
directly supervised via volunteers, as well as monitoring cameras in each
room.
“I’ve worked in corrections,” he said. “I know
how the mind works. Without direct supervision of these activities, you’re
asking for more trouble.” With supervision, however, Cruz believes that the
youth will have a positive effect on each other.
Down the road, Cruz plans to add more
expansive, ambitious programs. He intends to work with the local justice system
to develop a treatment program through the center that would be a sentencing
alternative for youth offenders. He also plans to devote a wing of the center to
a homeless shelter.
“You’d be surprised how many people in Conroe
are sleeping in the woods and in vacant buildings,” Cruz said.
The Youth Center is a life-consuming mission
that involves Cruz’s entire family. His wife, Estella, is the director of the
Conroe Area Assistance Ministries. One of its projects is a Thrift Shop at the
center that distributes money back into the community.
“She’s my right hand and my right foot. I
couldn’t do it without her,” Cruz said. The couple is so dedicated to the
mission that they recently moved their family’s residence into the center.
“We were spending seven days a week working
here,” he said. “We finally decided to just move in.”
Cruz’s vision is ambitious, but costly. The
Center is a 501(c)3 designated charity, so all donations are tax-deductible.
Cruz welcomes any support from the community, whether it is through
volunteering, donating money or equipment, or through prayer.
“A lot of people don’t even know that we
exist. Some aren’t even aware of the extent of the problem,” Cruz said. “But,
anything we can do as a community will make a difference. We can help these
youth, but I can’t do it all myself.
“I’m a soul man,” he said. “I love souls. I
love people. I want to help those who are hurting. I want to feel their hurt so
that I can help them.”
Cruz believes he’s not alone. If you also have
the desire to help those who are hurting, particularly teens, than please
contact Cruz at 936-494-0900.
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