The two young men who are likely the latest homicide victims of B.C.’s gang wars were just kids.

That’s what Kal Dosanjh, founder and CEO of Kids Play Foundation, wants people to remember about the two teenagers killed in Surrey on Sunday.

“These kids are human beings, and they’re all good kids, good kids that eventually end up taking the wrong path, but all of them were kids before they became a headline,” said Dosanjh, who knew one of the two slain teens.

KidsPlay Foundation started in 2015 when Dosanjh – who has worked with the Vancouver Police Department for more than 25 years – saw a need to keep kids out of gangs. The foundation was built on two principles: one, that all programs would be free of charge, and two, it would build community leaders.

Police responded to calls of a shooting in an underground parking lot in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood around 10 p.m. on Sunday (May 10).

Police found two young males, 16 and 18 years old, suffering from gunshot wounds. Both died at the scene.

Police believe that homicides are related to the B.C. gang conflict, and IHIT’s Sgt. Freda Fong said that, despite their youth, the two victims did have “previous interactions with police.”

CALL FOR HELP

About three years ago, Dosanjh received a call from a worried mother seeking help for her son.

“She knew the influences around him were dangerous, and she didn’t want to lose her child to the streets,” he said.

Dosanjh took the young man under his wing, and he became a regular at KidsPlay programs, helping out wherever he could, often playing soccer with the younger kids.

“This kid was tremendous, absolutely incredible, intelligent, strong, focused, driven, and ambitious. He had so many good qualities that would have made him a tremendous leader within the community,” he said.

Dosanjh recalled one time at a KidsPlay summer camp when the teen picked up a little girl he had gotten to know, put her on his shoulders, and ran around, laughing together.

“In that moment, you saw the innocence still inside him. The kids adored him,” Dosanjh said.

He took the time to help her prepare for a spelling bee, and after it was over, she ran straight to him instead of to her parents, gave him a big hug, and thanked him for his help, Dosanjh said.

“He was very protective of her, and he went out of his way to make sure that she would be on the path to success,” Dosanjh said.

Dosanjh could see that this young man had built strong connections with this little girl and other kids in the program, and that he was transforming and evolving as a teen.

But at the same time, he continued to be pulled back into the street lifestyle.

This young man was well-loved and grew up in a single-parent home, Kal said. “His mom had instilled good values and principles in him. He had a heart, he was kind, compassionate and empathetic.”

This young man had a loving mother who went “above and beyond” to care for her son but had gone through extensive trauma in life. His mom did everything she could to raise her son well, but she lacked a support network as she was working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

“He loved her very much, and he wanted the best for her. And I think that was another part of this, that they were probably offering him money and telling him that if you have any financial concerns, come work with us. We’ll take care of your financial needs, and your mom can retire,” Dosanjh said.

Dosanjh warned him that this was a trap, and told him that there are only two ways out of gangs: that you end up in jail or dead.

“He was standing at a crossroads and it was either that I stay on the good side, I work hard, my mom continues to struggle, and eventually, at some point in time, when I got my education, get my job, then I can help her, which is a long-term plan, versus where they’re offering him short-term success,” Dosanjh said.

“Where you know what, run your own drug lines, make easy cash, and you can buy your cars, your house, you’ll be wealthy, you’ll be independent, and we’ll give you the acceptance and identity that you’re looking for. You’re part of our brotherhood. We’ll take care of you, and they’re so for us, yet these guys take care of nobody but themselves. And that’s exactly it. They were just going to use them as another statistic, which he was at the end of the day.”

The reality is that the gangs do not care, Dosanjh said. “There is going to be no tears shed over his death (by the gangsters).”

THESE ARE JUST KIDS

They were just kids, Dosanjh stresses.

“I don’t think the public realizes that these are not some crazy, deranged, hard-core gangsters,” he said. “I felt so hurt to lose this one. He had a lot of potential.”

In moments like these, it is easy for the public to point the finger and say, “It’s your problem, you should have known better.”

But Dosanjh said the real question is who took the time to mentor these kids.

“We have to invest the time and energy and commit ourselves to mentoring them,” he said. Families also have to ask for help.

There is often a lot of stigma, especially in the South Asian community, if your kids are involved in drugs and gangs, where families “don’t want to air their dirty laundry,” and just hope for the best instead of seeking help.

“If these kids are involved in this lifestyle, you need help, as this mom did. She had the wherewithal and the understanding that she needed help, and I know the right platform for it. So she came to us,” he said. “We were doing our part, and we went above and beyond to make sure that this kid has all the other resources he needs to be successful in life. But we can’t be with (the gangs) 24/7, especially when those guys are offering lots of cash, what do you do? How do you compete with that?”

IT STARTS AT HOME

Dosanjh’s message to parents is that the home environment is “absolutely critical to their child’s development.”

“I have seen examples time and time and time and time again, where all the hard-core gangsters that I call from the South Asian community or in other gangs, whether it’s United Nations, Brothers Keepers, Red Scorpions, it was always the home environment that was the one where the issues began,” Kal said.

“One of the prime pillars and building blocks to a child’s development is where they grow, and if they have a solid base and they’re insulated with good principles, values, then it’s very rare that they’ll steer in that wrong direction when they’re approached. And the other thing is keeping kids connected with positive activity.”

This is the premise of KidsPlay: keeping kids connected through positive activities such as mentorship programs, social counselling, sports, and educational programs.

“We’re constantly bombarding these kids with positive programming so that they have the right company around them, and they have the right influences around them, and they’re taught good things and good values are being instilled in them, and then they’ll stay on the right track,” he said.

To learn more about KidsPlay and the work they do across B.C., Alberta, Ontario, India and Colombia, visit kidsplayfoundation.com.

-With files from Tricia Leslie

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