The Trouble Makers

Written by: Anna Cope, student at IUPUI's School of Social Work

Last December I became a big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters and it has been the best experience for me.  From the beginning my little sis’ mom has told me the reason why she wanted her daughters to be with Big Brothers Big Sisters is because she believes their neighborhood is not safe enough for them to play outside.  I had no clue how dangerous it was until one night while I was dropping her off.  She pointed to her neighbor’s house and nonchalantly said, “They are major trouble makers.”  I naively replied, “Oh really? Do you think that because they play their music too loud?” That is how I would describe troublesome neighbors at the young age of nine.  But that was not her reasoning for calling her neighbors trouble makers.  Without even blinking she said, “No, their house gets shot at all the time.”  I had no idea what to say, I tried to hold back tears, I was shocked that at nine years old she could talk about her neighbor’s house being shot at like it was an everyday occurrence.  Although, hearing my little talk about the violence in her neighborhood I realized how Big Brothers Big Sisters is such an amazing organization and it gives kids, like my little sis, experiences that they never would have had a chance to experience.  Big Brothers Big Sisters really does make a huge difference in our community.