Father figures are everything to young men.

The shortage of them in Bermuda, according to Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe, is one of the most serious issues in our community.

“I see it in very real time. I’ve seen the penny drop,” Mr Justice Wolffe told RG Men.

“A young man comes to the court who, for whatever reason, has had a dysfunctional existence.

“And then I, or somebody, gives some advice, and you can see just, in that moment, that he realises, ‘I should have been thinking like that.’

“And you can see it. And then from there, you can see an entire change of behaviour. It doesn’t happen every time, but you can see when it happens.”

The plight of young Black men in Bermuda has been a talking point for decades.

Today, hundreds are involved with gangs, many of whom are understood to be dealing with trauma and stress-related disorders. Nearly one-third of Black males aged 16 to 30 are at risk of poor literacy and limited life skills.

Mr Justice Wolffe said many young men who appear in court struggle to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings and are “acutely uncomfortable with doing so”.

He said: “This often leads to difficulties in trying to establish the roots causes of their behaviour, especially if their behaviour is a result of deeply embedded trauma.

“We must find ways to teach our young men the tools to effectively communicate their thoughts and feelings, and to be OK with seeking and receiving professional assistance if deemed necessary.”

Many, he believes, have not had enough meaningful conversations in their life.

“In some cases, they have never really had a male figure who’s been saying, ‘Hey, hey, hey, come on now.’

“So, they can’t put things into perspective. If you have a conversation with them, they literally do not know what’s happening tomorrow. They can’t see paths where they are right now.

“You say to them, ‘You may be 18 now, and it may seem fine. But you’ve got to start seeing yourself as 30 and 35. And it’s unsustainable what you’re doing now.’

“What always gets them, probably 90 per cent of the time, is when I say, ‘What would your mama think about what you do? What do you think she would say when she comes in a courtroom?’”

Abandonment

They might be worried about what their mother might think. But what about what the father might think?

Mr Justice Wolffe believes many young Bermudian men are suffering “serious pangs of abandonment” — and this includes “even the most thuggish of guys who have been charged with the most heinous crimes”.

He explained: “It sounds warm and fuzzy, but they just want to be loved. That someone’s shown them that ‘I’m here for you’ and to guide in a certain way.

“And then you’ll see, even the most hardened of criminals can change. Sometimes it happens overnight, sometimes it takes a while, but they just need that somebody looking through the eyes and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got you.’

“Moms have done a phenomenal job raising young men in this country. But at some point, it is also beneficial for a father to figuratively take a son by the scruff of their neck and say, ‘Hey. This is how it should be. This is what you should do.’”

We can all help

Any man can be a father figure.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re White or Black. Just a male. What transcends all of it is that someone is here, that’s genuine,” Mr Justice Wolffe said.

“These guys, they know genuine from fake. None are stupid. And so, when they feel their genuineness, you can put them on a path, or they put themselves on a path, to greatness.”

He abhors wasted potential.

“You know what the worst part of my job is? Having to incarcerate a person who I know that, if they just went on a different trek, they could be on Front Street running businesses.

“Listen. Being a drug dealer, you need a business mindset. Of course you do. You’ve got supply and demand. You have to set prices. You’ve got clients. You have an additional problem to deal with because you’ve got some other guy wanting to steal your drugs and then also the police.

“But the rudiments of entrepreneurship and business, they’ve got [it]. They didn’t learn that from university. I’ve seen guys who were math geniuses but found the wrong thing.”

He recalled one man appearing in court who mentioned that he was a rapper.

Mr Justice Wolffe challenged him to show the court what he could do.

“The courtroom’s packed,” he said. “He went off for about two minutes, just improvising about what he saw in the room.

“I said to him, ‘Sir, do you realise that you’ve got a quick mind? You are creative, right? You’re able to improvise and perform with all these people around you. These are qualities that the billionaires have. There’s no reason why I should be sending you to prison.’

“And that’s what hurts me.”

One young drug addict turned out to be a brilliant artist.

“The thing that gave him solace was his drawing,” he said. “This guy has no training, no formal schooling, nothing. Just off the top of his head.”

His drawing now hangs on the wall of Mr Justice Wolffe’s office.

Another man was a chess champion who had competed in overseas tournaments.

“He was in my courtroom for robbery. With these guys, you have to ask, have they just done what they’re supposed to do or is someone supposed to guide them?”

Redemption

Bermuda’s community boasts inspirational examples of men who turned their lives around, such as Charles Richardson and the late Shawn Crockwell, who studied to become lawyers while in prison.

Mr Justice Wolffe believes we need more.

“Charles Richardson and Shawn Crockwell got caught up for whatever reason, and went on and became lawyers,” he said.

“But they, unfortunately, are not the normal. A lot of guys don’t have the same sort of opportunities. And that’s what makes it really difficult for me to do my job, when I see so much potential coming to the court.”