Show #27: E.L.I.T.E. Youth
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Carl Cannon, Peoria Park District
Tim and Stacy talk with Carl Cannon of the ELITE Youth Program now part of Trewyn School. E.L.I.T.E. started as an offshoot of C.H.O.I.C.E.S. three years ago.
Carl Cannon initiated his concept at Manual High School where he was
teaching young people how to gain employment, how to communicate
effectively, how to dress for success, and, basically, how to grow up.
Three years after its implementation in three area schools, the
E.L.I.T.E. program is now succeeding in nine area schools! The program
now is in the middle schools so the benefits can begin even earlier for
the children. Peoria, IL is now at a 35 year low in youth crime in the
community. E.L.I.T.E. works because the concept originated as a simple
way to communicate effectively, behave responsibly, and dress
appropriately. Carl said, " We made it cool to be respectful. Simply
said."
Carl Cannon
Executive Director
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Tim and Stacy visited Trewyn School and learned what is going on.
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Carl Cannon
I was born and raised right here in the city of Peoria, IL, and so I'll
tell my kids I lived in what a lot of people would refer to as inner
city ghettos, Taft homes, Warner homes, Harrison homes. I lived in those
housing projects within our community. One thing that I was taught
early in life is that anything worth having, you have to work for. So,
early in life I had become a competitor. I was going to be the best at
something. Not everything. But I was going to be the best at something.
For me, it turned out to be athletics. I excelled. Because of that, I
had the chance to go to college. I admit today that I went for the wrong
reasons. I got there and found out it was about academics. I was kicked
out of school and I had to make a decision: what am I going to do with
my life? Am I going to join my friends who lived in those projects? A
lot of them were going to jail. A lot of them are gone today, violently
gone. Or, do I find another alternative? I’m a retired military officer.
I took some of the precepts, some of the concepts, and some of the
discipline that I had in the military and applied it to a new career
that the military gave me, which was law enforcement, specifically
corrections. Everything I do I have been the best. In the military, I
was one of the best corrections officers they had. In one of the Federal
Bureau Prisons, I was celebrated at the highest levels of the
Department of Justice. It was after these celebrations that I started in
CH.O.I.C.E.S. I was good at keeping them in, it just became more
important to keep them out. That’s what I’m good at today. I’m about
helping young people make good choices.
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