Desmond Crockwell has lost numerous family members to violence — but his new magazine, Visionz, is much more than just a personal story.

The quarterly publication, now on sale across the island, features former local gang members, victims of violence and grieving families as well as helping agencies and support groups.

After losing loved ones, Mr Crockwell made it his mission to launch Visionz as a forum for all those who have been affected by violent crime.

Mr Crockwell, who is chief editor, hopes that by including all voices in his publication, young people who might be at risk of being involved in gun violence or gang activity will find strength, inspiration and guidance to find a way out.

The aim of his magazine is not to preach to criminals, he says, but rather to bring all the helping agencies and support groups together in one space.

The magazine has gained the support of the Ministry of National Security, as well as funding from Argus, and will be circulated in schools.

“I made a commitment to the community and I made commitments to every single person in that magazine — it has been tough but it has been worth it,” Mr Crockwell told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s not about me — what we are doing is for our families, it is for our sports programmes, it is for our coaches, it’s for our teachers, it’s for our community workers, charity workers and all who are in the environment surrounding at- risk young people.

“We are not preaching to the at-risk young person — we are targeting everyone around them because we want them to seek help. Everywhere they will hear non-violence talk, see posters, so much so that they will have to join the conversation.”

The first issue includes an account by Ceblé Crockwell, who lost her brother Fiqre Crockwell when he was shot last summer.

She says: “The dreaded words ‘Fiqre was just shot’ cut through my heart like a knife.”

A former drug addict with a violent past, Ralph Burrows reveals in his “Personal View” column: “I tried running away from myself for over 20 years but to no avail,” adding that if you join a gang you put yourself and your family in jeopardy, you will be confined to a small geographical area of the island and will live with constant paranoia.

During the magazine’s launch party in April, Mr Burrows was on the record inviting young people, especially young males wrapped up in criminal activity, to reach out to him for advice or even just a listening ear.

Community worker, entrepreneur and DJ Lynwood “Brotha Richie” Richardson says in his article: “Purpose shifts your perspective on life and makes you realise that life is something worth living for”.

One contributor, Michael Doucet, revealed he had become involved in “every criminal activity you could think of” including selling heroin. He admits “it was all about the money”.

His actions soon caught up with him and he found himself serving a nine-month prison sentence at Westgate Correctional Facility and the farm facility. He says he has since turned his life around and is earning an honest living. Asked why he decided to share his story with the community, he told this newspaper: “I wanted to give our future a better chance. We don’t have to live just by what we see.

“When I was young, I had dreams that I wanted to become a fireman or a police officer but I just got caught up in what I saw every day. It was easier to do. It was a choice.

“I liked what it looked like and I wanted to get into it. If I could go back, I guess I would have chosen a different path and gone to college.

“It is not too late to change — I’m 35. I am glad I went through the experience and am still here to tell the story because somebody might look and be inspired.

“Also, if I don’t say anything then it is easier for me to continue down that road, so I am trying to break the whole cycle and give someone else the opportunity to change as well.”

Mr Doucet said it was the harm he was doing to the people he loved most that made him want to change.

“If it was all about me I wouldn’t mind carrying on, but I look around and people that love me hurt more than I hurt — parents, family, children — you never know who you are influencing.”

Asked what sort of advice he would give to a young man at risk of entering a life of crime, he answered: “We all have a dream in our head — we like to play soccer, we like to play sports, you may love to sing or want to get into a business.

“I would say, the world is basically yours — you don’t have to be stuck to the thing that seems easy. Anything may be easy if you get the instruction on how to do it. I say stick to your dreams. If you have a vision, keep to your vision and go for it.

“Since I came out of prison people notice I am doing more positive things. So many people come to me with different ideas, people want to work with me.”

Mr Crockwell believes that while all the agencies in Bermuda are part of the solution, there is no one who can understand the dilemma of a young person involved in violent crime better than those who have been through it themselves.

“We have to get to the OGs as we call them — the Old Gangsters — your Ralph Burrows, people like Mike or myself who have had influence over people who are still there doing a lot of ignorance,” he explained.

“We’ve been through it, we’ve done this. Nobody would have thought I would be doing this magazine 20 years ago.

“These people who shoot people — they do have respect and so we have to get to the people they respect. We are a support group.

“There comes a time for every person on the street to leave the street. You don’t see 60-year-olds shooting — physically you can’t move like you used to. Eventually everyone changes and we have to be a catalyst for that change. I have got family members caught up in this who are getting murdered. I have cousins getting shot. Let’s talk.”

Visionz is on sale for $10 at Brown & Co, Satronics, Jeffrey and Sons, BIU gas station and Fresh TV in Pembroke; Rubis Van Buren Marine Station in Flatts; The Hub in Warwick; St George’s Esso and Surprise! in St George; and Gombey’s Restaurant and Bar in St David’s.

Mr Crockwell plans to stock the magazine in more locations in the west of the island.

He wants to give special thanks to Mirrors co-ordinator Kim Jackson, Senator Jeff Baron, Minister of National Security, Charmaine Burgess and Joy Pimentel at Argus, the Bermuda Public Services Union, and others who helped to make his dream become a reality.

For more information visit: www.visionzmagazine.com