ORLANDO, Fla. -- Twelve people, nearly half of them women, graduated Friday to become Orange County’s first certified “credible messengers,” the latest development in the county’s collaboration with community leaders to address youth violence.
In a ceremony held at the Juvenile Assessment Center in downtown Orlando, one graduate, 17-year-old Naomi Flowers, was hailed as the youngest to be certified through the Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement, or CM3, an organization that trains people from around the country to be mentors for at-risk youth.
“People say young people are the leaders of the future, but they’re the leaders of today,” said Clinton Lacey, CEO of CM3, who has previously implemented credible messenger initiatives in New York City and Washington D.C.
