After a picture of teenagers in handcuffs went viral, two of the young men now have awesome new jobs.
Raymond Bell works with the H.O.P.E. Project, Helping Other People Excel, first noticed the boys went a picture on Twitter spread like wildfire. It was a picture of three teenage boys placed in handcuffs by undercover police officers. Their offense? Selling water without a permit.
The Twitter post, posted by Tim Krepp, was shared over 15,000 times. People were outraged that the three boys, all of them black, were only trying to help their community. The use of handcuffs, many people felt, was excessive.
Even though the boys were let off with a verbal warning, the humiliation of being placed in handcuffs in public was ridiculous, many people thought.
The police issued a statement:
“Thursday, June 22, shortly before 5 PM, four male individuals, (three teenagers and one adult), were detained by U.S. Park Police officers for illegally vending on the National Mall in the area of 12th Street and Jefferson Drive, NW,” said Park Police spokeswoman Anna Rose. “The three juveniles (one 16 & two 17), were released to the custody of their legal guardians, along with their container and all of the items enclosed within. All parties were released with a verbal warning against vending without a permit and vending in a geographically prohibited area. No parties were cited or arrested.”
The pictures were so upsetting that even councilman Charles Allen sent a letter to the chief of police.
Now, Bell is training Nolan White and Devin Gatewood at H.O.P.E., teaching the two 17-year-olds about information technology.
“I’m an entrepreneur myself and I love seeing young people having an interest in working for themselves,” said Bell. “We hope to be bringing them on board as iPhone screen technicians here at H.O.P.E. Project,”
Bell started the H.O.P.E. project back in 2009 to help with the high school unemployment rate in the local community. He plans on reaching out to the other young man in the photo for now but is ecstatic to have White and Gatewood on board.
Gatewood is a senior in high school, and White is a junior. Both of them couldn’t be more grateful for Bell and the doors he’s opened.
“I just want to thank the guy who took the picture, but without him, none of these opportunities would have been possible,” said White.
Bell’s act of kindness from this unsettling situation will certainly be a positive guiding force in these young men’s lives.
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