Martin Luther King Jr.
January 10, 2018
2018 special edition
Page 17
Putting At-Risk Kids on Path to Non Violence
Youth mentor
speaks from
experience
by Danny Peterson
The Portland Observer
Dontae Blake, 43, is an ex-
gang member from northeast
Portland trying to reconcile
his past by connecting young-
er gang members to nature in
an effort to prevent them from
going down the same path he
once walked down.
Blake has been working for
over two years with a non-prof-
it organization whose aim is to
decrease community violence
by doing outreach for at-risk
youth and creating pathways to
education, careers, mentorship
and community service. He
takes kids on nature excursions
that include whitewater raft-
ing, mountaineering, wildlife
viewing, and hiking trails in
the central Oregon area around
Bend, through the program,
Unify Portland, Living Free.
“I haven’t had a disappointed
kid yet. It’s like watching a kid
Portland area.
Blake started mentoring at-
risk youth back in 2010 while
attending Central Oregon Com-
munity College in Bend, using
his own tuition money and food
stamps to fund the excursions.
When he came back to Portland
after college, he started attend-
ing Community Peace Collabo-
rative meetings held every other
Friday at the North Portland
Police Precinct, organized by
the City of Portland’s Office of
Youth Violence Prevention.
Formerly known as Port-
land’s Gang Task Force, the
public forum changed its name
in 2014 to Community Peace
Collaborative. The meetings
are designed to intervene and
prevent youth violence in
Multnomah County by build-
ing support networks for youth
and families, according to the
Office of Youth Violence Pre-
vention website. Community
members such as individuals,
photo by Danny Peterson/The Portland Observer law enforcement, businesses,
Dontae Blake speaks from experience as he works to reduce gang violence in the commu-
city bureaus, faith communi-
nity through a program called “Unify Portland, Living Free.” A former gang member, he has
ties, and neighborhood coali-
turned his life around and now works with an organization creating outdoor excursions for
tions have participated in the
at-risk kids, helping them develop skills and interests that lead to productive lives.
meetings.
Outdoor excursions in the central Oregon area around Bend
provide mentoring and recreation opportunities for at-risk
youth as part of the “Unify Portland, Living Free” program
born through the Community Peace Collaborate, Portland’s
anti gang effort.
at Christmas,” he said. “They
just turn into kids, even active,
young active gang members.”
Blake was one of hundreds
of people taken off a gang des-
ignation list after the 20-year-
old practice was phased out by
the Portland Police Bureau in
October.
Mentoring and recreation
programs, which are Living
Free’s flagship services, were
listed as two of the top strate-
gies suggested by communi-
ty leaders to reduce the gang
problem in Portland, second
only to jobs and job training,
according to a Multnomah
County Comprehensive Gang
Assessment from 2014. The
same report stated that there
were around 133 gangs in the