Rep. Mike Carey visits Hilltop youth center, promises funding for community needs

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A U.S. representative heard firsthand on Thursday some of the struggles children in the Hilltop neighborhood are facing each day.

Congressman Mike Carey took a tour of the MY Project USA Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center on Thursday to learn more about what they do and talk with the youth involved. He said the meeting was all about figuring out how he and the federal government can help fix these problems.

Carey said what stuck out to him the most is when he asked if the kids hear gunshots at night, and the kids responded every day. The congressman said this response is hard for him to hear.

“I hate the fact that we have a person who has actually been shot. I hate the fact that many of their parents are scared for them to go out and play,” Carey said.

Members of the Hilltop tigers soccer club had the chance to talk to the congressman about those traumatic experiences. They also talked to him about the place they call their escape – MY Project USA

"What Zerqa has done here, it is an opportunity to not only have a place to come and eat and recreate but also to learn,” Carey said.

Many, if not all, of the boys at Thursday's discussion have lost someone to gun violence. Ali Jeylani’s 15-year-old brother, Issa, was shot and killed last July.

“He died on July 22 and it's coming the yearly you know death day it's going to be hard. Just talking about him is hard but I push through for him,” Jeylani said.

Jeylani is a coach for the soccer club. He now serves as a role model to many of his brother’s friends. He said he moved to Columbus when he was 15. He said some of the things he saw as a young boy were hard to fathom.

“I wasn’t used to seeing kids doing stuff that they are doing like starting with 10-year-olds to 12-year-olds to 15,16 like having guns, the way they talk and just the drug use and everything,” Jeylani said. “I wish when I was younger I had something like this because I lost some friends to it when I was younger I lost people around me that I didn’t even know, I knew of but I wish they had something like this so they could’ve been distracted because kids do what they see first. If they see drugs they go to it. But if they see soccer they’ll go to it.”

He said conversations like Thursdays with the congressmen allows these young voices to feel heard.

“I liked how he came out to hear what we wanted to say to him and I liked that he was like a normal person,” Jeylani said.

Congressman Carey said he is working with MY Project USA to help secure funding for a mentorship program and build a safe recreation space. He is planning to meet with city leaders to involve them as well.