Two men minister to victims of violence in inner-city Boston
Michael Person and William Dickerson operate a 'first response ministry' that works to console victims' families and stem crime in Dorchester.
from the June 10, 2008 edition
Page 2 of 3
The help received from Person and Dickerson is "invaluable," according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley. "An important part of [their] credibility is that they've never compromised their independence even as they've worked toward the same goals that we in law enforcement have."
When a homicide occurs, Person may go to the scene and escort the family to the hospital while Dickerson remains in the neighborhood trying to defuse tensions. During the ensuing days, they continue to support the community and help plan a funeral for the victim. They also work to get witnesses to come forward and perpetrators to turn themselves in, typically accompanying them to the police station.
The two men have a close and mutually respectful relationship. "He has a heart for the people," Person says of Dickerson. "He can find goodness in the worst person in the world." Person pauses, blinks. "He is more than a brother."
• • •
By the 1990s, Person had turned his own life around after years of street life. While working as a cook at various city programs for youth offenders, he discovered an interest in outreach. He also remarried, became a born-again Christian, and got involved in the ministry.
At their home, Person and his wife instituted "family night." Every Wednesday, the couple and their four children – three grown – gathered to share a meal chosen by the kids and cooked by Person. The rule during dinner was that the kids got to talk, while the parents just listened.
It was on one of those Wednesdays that Greene, who attended regularly, failed to show up. A full day passed before anyone could bear to tell Person what had happened, and 13 more before his son's body was returned to him.
After the death, Person turned to his youth work with greater urgency. He was appointed the city's TenPoint Coalition liaison to the victim/witness program at the D.A.'s office. After he was ordained a reverend in 2001 at Christ Temple Church, he founded the First Response Ministry. Last October he became a member of GLT and transferred the program there.
As director, his role, while unpaid, is more hands-on than Dickerson's. Inside his many files is a master sheet simply titled "Homicides." On it he lists each victim's name, the location and date of the crime, and the cause of death. Pink highlighter indicates the active cases – currently more than 20.
If there's an edge of desperation to the First Response mission, it is because the city's murder rate has not shown a substantive decrease in more than a decade. As a result, although Dickerson and Person are both trained grief counselors and know much about consoling families, they also aim a pointed message of accountability and restraint at those who may have witnessed (or participated in) the crime.
RSS feed
