More Police patrols on Curving Avenue is not the answer if residents really want to help the young men who congregate on a wall near the St. Augustine Church.

Instead of complaints, one resident has called for the private sector to make summer jobs available for the young men.

Mr. Lou Matthews, who is part of an organisation called Reclaiming Our Community said they have already had some success securing jobs for two of the youths.

And the group is in the midst of setting up a GED class to help those who have dropped out of school to get their high school diploma.

"I deal with these guys every day,'' he said. "Some of these guys are in school, but many of the guys that hang out there are not even from the neighbourhood.'' Mr. Matthews, a teacher at the Berkeley Institute, lives in one of the prefabricated units behind the church.

He said that many of the young men have good business minds but they are unable to find work because many corporate employers have an implicit bias against hiring young black men.

"Typical summer jobs in the Banks and in sales jobs are reserved for women which leaves our young men unemployed,'' he said.

"This leads to frustration and they end up believing that the system does not work.'' "We need to find ways to motivate these men.'' On Wednesday, The Royal Gazette published a story in which some residents called for more Police surveillance in the area.

They say that many of the young men, who call themselves the White Wall Crew, hang out near the church sell drugs openly and keep a lot of noise.

And they have written letters and spoken to PLP MP Mr. Stanley Morton who has promised to hold a meeting with the young men to see if a resolution can be found.

However, Mr. Mathews said that his group had bought a basketball hoop and pole but they were unable to find any place to set it up.

Undaunted, the ROC has succeeded in putting a basketball team into the summer league that starts on Sunday at the BAA gymnasium, and many of the men who hang out on the wall will be playing.

"Many people may have the impression that these guys are always getting into trouble, but they are the ones who white washed that wall they hang out on last Christmas.

"Before that it was covered in graffiti. That whole area used to be covered with trash but those same guys have cleared it up themselves.''