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There is never enough said about the people whose hard work prevents bad things from happening and plants seeds for the good, mostly because we are kept very busy by the things that go wrong.
So enough credit is never given, until those times – like right now – when we take a breath and focus.
The heroes otherwise go unsung altogether, and word of what is good gets cramped in the process, somewhere in the news pipeline.
An example of this is Justin Patterson, who is known instead by a lot of people as Deejay Juice. At a time when many young people are without positive role models – particularly young men – Juice is one of the people who stand out as a promoter of what is good.
Juice’s day job is at Coteau-Bayou Blue Elementary School where he works as a teacher’s aide with children in need of special education. But he spends a lot of time mentoring other kids, just working with them. What he has is a special credibility that a lot of other people working with youngsters don’t. It emerges from the music, which may have more booms and be louder than a lot of parents might prefer. But it works with the kids, who now more than ever have a culture that a lot of folks might find foreign, but which is not.
A native of Gray, the record-spinner uses positive one-on-one talk to motivate kids to do what is good, in a way they can accept.
Juice’s business dealings and circles of acquaintance include spinners who have worked closely with artists like Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. He attended the 2015 Black Entertainment Television awards in Los Angeles, as an invited guest.
There is a curious symbiosis that relates to Juice’s ability to relate, and have kids relate to him. For some local kids he is the closest they will get to meet a star for a while, or at least they may think so. He has spun the turntables at many a Terrebonne School District party for youngsters. And then there are the events like the one scheduled for Dec. 18 at the Bayou Black Recreation Center.
The more events involving young people that he plays at, the more the kids get to know him and the more cred is developed. This means that when he approaches kids who need help coping with what life has dealt them and tries to keep them on the right path, there is greater effectiveness.
Dec. 18, is a Friday. From 6 to 9 p.m., he will spin hits and do his routine while the youngsters get to socialize, maybe dance a little, and overall have a good time.
“I’ve done this many times before,” he said, while explaining a formula that he claims has a winning history. Be there for kids in an entertainment setting, be available, and when you talk with them be real about how they can navigate the future.
This has worked well, he says, at other events like this one. He has also been the DJ for the Terrebonne High prom.
The need for people to step up and work with kids is crucial right now, and Juice says he hopes his experience can benefit others, and therefore benefit more kids.
The violence is unabated and is not limited to Terrebonne. In Raceland last week shooting broke out at a house party, leaving one 20-year-old dead and three people wounded. In Houma, just Saturday night, 21-year-old Davante Maryland was killed by gunfire. He was shooting dice and an argument broke out. More than 30 people saw what happened but they are not talking.
Knowing right from wrong, according to Juice, is what young people need to learn, and what he tries to help teach them.
The victims and the victimizers in the internecine Houma crime wave are older than the kids Juice tries to work with. But today’s tweens and young teens are tomorrow’s 18 and 20 and 21 year olds, and while maybe not a lot can be done with those most at risk right now, perhaps, the foundations can be laid for the ones who are still developing.
Mostly, Juice said, it’s about encouraging them to know how to spot what they have inside that is good, and that can give them a future.
And sometimes it starts with a winter party at a local gym.
Jason “DJ Juice” Patterson at a party he hosted for youngsters. Juice, a teacher’s aide, works with young people to keep them on the right track in his off-time.
