News feature on Scouting program success at the Joliet Housing Authority.

1. Successful Scouting
The Herald News - Joliet (IL)
March 9, 2003 | Denise M. Baran-Unland
Jerrie Davis laughs as she talks with some of her kids in her Cub Troop at pack meeting
at Fairview Community Center. Anthony Stallings, on ladder, helps hang decorations for
his Cub Scout troop's Blue and Gold banquet. Jordan Rent, 13, gives directions at their
meeting place, Fairview Homes community center. Scoutmaster Jerrie Davis talks to
Sean Denoyer (center) and Kim Hughes, representing Boy Scouts of America.
Scoutmaster Jerrie Davis doesn't know the meaning of the
word "can't." "I'm a positive person, and I don't believe in
`no' as an answer," Davis said. "When I'm given a project,
I try to see it through." And Davis has done what others
could not do: She's made Scouting succeed in the
buildings of the Housing Authority of Joliet.
"There's so much that the children here can do that from Day One I've told them, `Don't
bring me the word `can't' because (in the dictionary) `can' comes before `can't.' Just
because you live in the projects doesn't mean you are poor.'

2. "These boys are just kids, and someone took the time with us when we were kids," she
said.
Through the years, the Housing Authority of Joliet had initiated several attempts at
bringing the Boys Scout experience to these boys. These attempts failed until three
years ago when Davis, family site manager for the Fairview Center, agreed to become a
den mother and Scoutmaster to Cub Scout Packs 73 (Fairmont homes) and 74 (Poole
Garden homes), part of Rainbow Council's Greater Five Rivers District Scout Reach
Program.
Cassandra Bouie of Joliet and a Fairview community aide, Vanessa Wells, assist Davis.
Poole Garden community aide Gloria Sheldon runs the Poole Garden den, her first year
doing so.
"We made our program fit their needs, and these ladies do it well," said Kim Hughes,
Greater Five Rivers District commissioner. "It's given the boys a sense of responsibility
and a sense that there are things out there other than playing around in the streets."
Boys advance
On Feb. 28, at the packs' second Blue and Gold Banquet and first awards banquet, all
21 boys advanced in rank, with several of them receiving their Arrow of Light award and
moving up into Boy Scouts.
Davis, who suffered a stroke two years ago (she has high blood pressure and insulin-
dependent diabetes) and runs herd on her own five children, will oversee Boy Scout
Troop 74, as well.
Boy Scouting has become such an important part of these boys' lives that Davis refuses
to disappoint them. They meet every Friday night to work on their badges, in addition to
their participation in field trips and community service projects, even though the troop is
too poor to buy uniforms for the boys. Housing authority regulations prohibit the boys
from organizing fund-raisers, Davis said.

3. Still, the hard work, dedication and commitment from leaders, parents and Scouts has
paid off; these Scouts are experiencing a lot of "firsts." On March 22, the boys will
compete for the first time in a Pinewood Derby. In the past, these Scouts have made
and raced the model wooden cars that they hand-carved and decorated themselves,
only during their regular meeting times.
Camping Scout style
And this spring, these boys will take part in their first Cubmobile event where they will
make and race their own cub-sized vehicle. Also, this summer, the boys will get a taste
of camping, Boy Scout style, at the Rainbow Council campgrounds in Morris.
So far, the only Boy Scout camp that 13-year-old Larry Parrish has experienced are the
sleepovers at the community center. Any place that has swimming is fine with him, said
9-year-old Anthony Stallings. Ten-year-old Donald Thomas doesn't mind what activity
the pack chooses. He likes them all: swimming, biking, bowling and skating.
But, through Scouting, Donald is also learning the value of "giving back" to one's
community. "I liked collecting things for the poor people at MorningStar Mission,"
Donald said, referring to the care packages his pack assembled during the holidays.
But he knows that charity often begins in one's back yard. "I like helping Jerrie, too, like
if she has to carry things out to the van," he said. "I just jump right in and do it."
Door open
Because the boys rely heavily on her strength, Davis makes herself available to them as
much as possible. "My door is always open," Davis tells the boys. One day, she said a
certain Scout knocked on her office door and asked, "Mrs. Davis, can I talk to you? Can
I close the door?"
It turned out that, through his own fault, the boy had low grades on his report card and
felt badly about it. But what encouraged Davis is that he also took the initiative to fix the

4. problem. "Mrs. Davis," she recalled him saying, "I want to be a good Boy Scout. I'm
going to study."
Davis said, "He brought those grades up tremendously, from a 1.7 grade point average
to a 2.4."
Both Brian Davis, 15, and Aaron "AJ" Kemp, 9, also said that Scouting has inspired
them to become better people, while Lenell Green, 10, said it has taught him that it's OK
to be himself.
Part of becoming that better person is to learn the Cub Scout promise, understand what
it means, and, hardest still, live it.
Both Laurice Green, 11, and Jerome Abbott, 13, found learning the promise difficult but,
with perseverance, were able to make it a part of their lives.
"We would break up into groups and say the promise to each other," Laurice said.
Jerome also practiced it at home, mindful of the responsibility that comes with the fun of
becoming a Boy Scout. "I represent my center," Jerome said. "I want to be as good and
nice to people as I possibly can."
Male role models
That can be a challenge without a few male role models to show them the way, Davis
concedes, since the boys at her center all come from single-parent, female-head-of-
household homes. Oftentimes, the maintenance men at the community center pitch in
and help the boys with their projects.
But male mentors may also be coming from other sources. Davis said that the Joliet
Police Department wants to get involved. Hughes said that an East Side Elks group also
hopes to work soon with the boys, too.

5. In addition, Davis' own son, Erik Walton, an education major at Eureka College near
Peoria, drops by from time to time.
"At the Blue and Gold dinner he told them that he came out of public housing and that
he was always encouraged to do better," Davis said. "He motivated those kids so much
that they asked him for his autograph as if he was a NBA star."
Denise M. Baran-Unland
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