Mt. OLIVER, Pa. — Monday’s triple shooting in Allentown, that left 17-year-old Isaiah Anderson dead and two other people injured, marks the tenth teen murder in the city.
“What’s going to make a long-term impact?” That is the question Brashear Association Executive Director Andrea Matthews asks herself after every teen murder.
“Every time we have to deal with this violence, we channel that into a passion,” said Matthews.
The Brasher Association has been a staple in Mt. Oliver for decades but recently has turned its focus to serving teens across 12 South Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
“We are here Monday through Friday during after-school hours, and [the kids] know they can come here, they know what to expect,” said Matthews.
After-school programming begins with a warm meal, homework assistance, stem programming, a teen lounge, and a safe space to just chill.
“It is terrifying,” said Candice Benson, director of programming of the Brashear Association. Benson shared that she worries about her son, too, when she hears stories like Monday’s shooting death of 17-year-old Isaiah Anderson, “Is [my son] safe, is he going to be able to go to the store and make it back home?”
“It makes it hard, it makes it hard, when violence is so close to home,” said Matthews.
But both she and Matthews, South Pittsburgh natives, who live and now work in the community, have no plans of slowing down.
“There is no limit to how impactful this can be,” said Matthews.
And with eight of the 27 murders this year taking place in one of the communities they serve, the Brashear Association has a three-stage expansion planned.
“In phase two we are bringing our market, café, and wellness center to the space adjacent to us, and in phase three we will have the students plan more designs for what they want to see included,” said Matthews.
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