The Prescription
At the heart of the Alive & Free Prescription is the notion that violence is a social disease with an explicit treatment process.
Like disease, it is transmitted by the germs of bad information, bad instruction, bad advice, and bad examples which, to young people, appear to be good. Youth are exposed to these germs via their families, peers and neighborhoods; through music, television, video games, and movies. The disease falsely appears as techniques for survival, known as “game” or “street smarts”. In fact, the opposite is true - infected youth do not survive, they only learn how to die or go to prison.
Methodology
The “Alive & Free Prescription” works to change beliefs, attitudes, values and actions that promote violence. Alive & Free identifies and addresses Risk Factors - the actions that put young people at risk of violence - and the Commandments of Violence - symptomatic thinking that puts them at risk. The Prescription then counters them with the Rules for Living that promote positive lifestyle choices to mitigate against the onset of the disease of violence.
These Risk Factors, Commandments of Violence, and Rules for Living are at the core of Alive & Free’s methodology:
Risk Factors
- Destructive Language
- Guns
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Attitude: “I don’t give a ____”
- Negative View of Women
- Material Values over People
- Destructive Family/Environment
- Fearship v. Friendship
The Commandments of Violence
- Thou shalt not snitch
- Thou shalt handle thy business
- Thou shalt do what thy gotta do
- Thou shalt get girls
- Thou shalt not be no punk
- Thou shalt get thy respect
- Thou shalt get thy money on
- Thou shalt put in work
- Thou shalt carry a gun for protection
- Thou shalt recruit
- Thou shalt be down for thy set/hood/crew
- Thou shalt be down for thy homies right or wrong
The Rules for Living
There is nothing more valuable than an individual’s life.
(You can never kill an enemy.)
Respect comes from within.
Change begins with the individual.
A friend will never lead you to danger.
(A healthy person stands alone.)
Join the Alive & Free Movement
To End Violence and Change Lives
