Former gangster turns efforts toward helping area children

By Robert Shearon / Staff Writer
Friday, December 26, 2008 11:15 AM CST

Leifel Jackson prepares to make supper for the children at the ROCAN center. The menu that day included hot dogs (Robert Shearon).

After spending nine years in prison for drug trafficking, Leifel Jackson decided he wanted to help children.

Jackson, now 47, widely remembered as O.G. from the HBO documentary “Banging in Little Rock,” left federal prison in 2000 and went to work for Our Club, a county-funded after-school program housed at the old train station at Hazel and Fourth streets in North Little Rock.

The grant funding for the program ended in 2002, at which time Jackson determined that he would find a way to keep the facility operating, using all volunteer staff. “After working two-and-a-half years, I couldn’t let it loose,” he said. He received a 501(c)3 designation for the program in 2004 and changed the name of the program to ROCAN, which stands for Reaching Our Children and Neighborhoods.

The program operates from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. The city of North Little Rock provides the building and pays the utility bills. The rest of the funding is through private donors, Jackson said.

The program is free to participants.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jackson said he supports himself through public speaking about gang and drug intervention.

He said he thought it was important to keep the center open to provide stability for the children in the neighborhood.

As children arrive at the center they are given a snack by volunteers. “No kid can be still with an empty stomach,” Jackson said.

After the snack, volunteers help the children with the homework. Then fun activities, such as computer and video games, and arts and crafts activities are allowed.

The primary benefit of the center, Jackson said, is “it gives them a safe haven after school.”

“From 3 to 6 p.m., more kids get into trouble,” he said, explaining that many children are not supervised during those after-school hours.

Jackson said he spends a lot of time doing drug and gang intervention with the children.

“We try to combat what they see in the projects ... a guy standing on a street corner with a 40-ounce beer in his hand is not normal,” he said, adding that some people come to think of that as normal because that’s what they see on a daily basis.

“Our number one goal is to deal with behavior,” he said.

Lisa Smith, 41, is the assistant director of the center. A single parent, she came to the center out of desperation five years ago with her four sons. She told Jackson she had heard “you do wonders with young men.”

She said the center and Jackson have been a big help. Since her involvement with the center, she has received an associate’s degree in applied science and general education and plans to continue going to school to earn a degree in psychology with a minor in social work. Her children have performed well academically and professionally, she said.

She now works full time at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in the communications department. “I feel like the program has been a solid foundation for the children,” she said. “It gives them a consistency. I think that’s important. It deters them from going out and getting into other things.”

ROCAN is conducting a drive to replenish supplies. Smith said the center needs notebook paper, pencils, erasers, crayons, dictionaries and poster boards.

Those interested in donating money can visit the ROCAN Web site, rocan.org, or send donations to ROCAN at P.O. Box 2368, Little Rock, AR 72203.

He said anyone wanting to bring supplies by the center is welcome any time.