‘Choose a side, or it’s going to choose you:’ Columbia nonprofit takes to the streets to keep kids from turning toward them

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Growing up in St. Louis in the '90s for Lonnie Lockhart Bey wasn't easy.

He was met with challenges and hardships that led him down a path he hadn't planned. That adversity eventually led to him becoming affiliated with a gang.

Lockhart Bey says the word "affiliated" is key.

"One of the misconceptions is that children just join gangs," Lockhart Bey said. "It's something traumatic, something overall sinister about that child's life that happened that causes them to drift away from the encouragement where they feel alone, and they find themselves in this space with other people who, too, feel alone."

Those long days quickly turned into even longer nights, where Lockhart Bey said he stayed up listening to the sound of electric fences humming all night. Those sounds were coming from a bunk after being in the gang landed him a prison sentence.

Years later, he began using his personal story as a way to motivate others from going down the same road through the Critical Change Gang Prevention Program. Lockhart Bey is the executive director of Destiny of H.O.P.E, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping at-risk youth.

Lockhart Bey started his work using a "boots on the ground" approach in August 2021. In 2023, the group was awarded $320,000 of the City of Columbia's $25.2 million American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Spokesman Austin Krohn with the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services said Destiny of H.O.P.E is contracted to receive a total of $428,333.33 through city ARPA funds and has spent 74% ($335,057.29) to date.

The group received the additional funds through the Columbia City Council in October 2024, Krohn said.

A portion of that funding is being used toward the Critical Change Gang Prevention program run through Lockhart Bey's company, called Boyz2 Men Consulting LLC.

Lockhart Bey said his objective is to help teenagers see the potential outcomes of joining a gang, rather than telling them not to join one.

"I would never tell them that because I joined a gang, but I would give them the flip side, and I would help them understand what's happening on the flip side of it," Lockhart Bey said. "Because what you're not accounting for is death, or the Missouri Department of Corrections."

Lockhart Bey said those options aren't the worst outcomes, noting he has friends who are in wheelchairs because of gang violence.

"I have one that's a great guy, but now all he can do is sit in that chair. Who wants that, right? You're at the mercy of everybody that's around you," Lockhart Bey said. "And it's not just about talk, it's actually about us being able to help them understand that life in and of itself is composed of many things and most of those things you don't have control over, so why are you making it your fault?"

The program uses a hands-on approach, with staff going to various neighborhoods in the Columbia area and talking with teenagers. They work to address the trauma, lack of feeling loved and abandonment issues that Lockhart Bey says can ultimately lead to children becoming victims of bad behavior.

Lockhart Bey said his personal experiences allow him to understand pain and abandonment.

The work doesn't just stop after one conversation. Lockhart Bey said Destiny of H.O.P.E. works to stay in contact with the people they talk to and build relationships and bonds. He said they haven't received much pushback.

An ARPA form submitted to the City of Columbia from Destiny of H.O.P.E states that the program has been more instrumental to the city than originally thought. The program also received additional funding from Boone County Children's Services to conduct additional gang prevention programming, documents show.

Lockhart Bey said he initially thought they would connect with a couple of teenagers, but the need for these services quickly became evident.

Lockhart Bey said he also works to talk with boys in his group called "Heat Squad" about affiliation and peer pressure, something he said only gets more sophisticated with age.

When asked if he believed there are gangs in Columbia, Lockhart Bey said there are gangs in every city across the United States. He said it's hard to know what the antidote is, but said he believes the underlying cause is socioeconomic.

He said he believes that until the problem of young men not feeling loved and heard is fixed, there will always be the problem of gangs. However, he said it's also important to note that people are working to make a better life for themselves.

"There are young men who are doing the right thing, who are in the midst of these things and not participating," Lockhart Bey said. "There are young men who went down that road and made some bad decisions and have turned the corner and are doing what they need to do, and I think that should be a part of the conversation as well."

Lockhart Bey said the money awarded to the group has allowed the group to acquire the PEACE and HOPE center -- located on Providence Road -- and to continue to grow. Destiny of H.O.P.E. is building a teen center located in the basement of the building, open Monday through Saturday, that aims to keep teenagers from going downtown on the weekends.

The center will have a music studio, live DJ, concession stand and lounge area. Lockhart Bey said they plan to have it open sometime in February.

Lockhart Bey said through the PEACE and HOPE center, they've been able to introduce youth to a different mentality that helps them understand that education is a key component to success in life.

"That's why education is front and center to everything that we do. Even when they come in, you give up your phone, and you do your homework," Lockhart Bey said. "We do some sort of group activity, and then you can have fun, but you can't just come in here and have fun. If you're doing bad at school, you're really not just gonna come in here and have fun, and so it's a give and take, and everything in here is incentivized."

Check back here and watch ABC 17 News at 10 to hear more about what organizations are doing to address violence.