CARLOS SOUSA JR.

Carlos Sousa, Jr. has become one of the Milford Exploring Law Enforcement Post’s adult leaders after spending nearly five years involved in the project. He has taken a proactive position to improve the life of young people not only in his post, but also in the entire community. Because of his service to his own community, Sousa was featured in an article in the Community Links, a community-policing magazine published in Washington, DC.

During the last few years, Sousa has volunteered hundreds of hours to community service and improving the lives of others. He assists in the planning and coordinating of the KidCare Project. The Polaroid Corporation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children developed this project, which provides parents of small children with a recent photograph and a set of fingerprints of their child so that in the event the child is missing, the parents will have this to provide to law enforcement. The Milford Post has fingerprinted thousands of young children in the Milford area since starting this project. For its efforts with this project, Post 29 received the International Crime Prevention Practitioners’ 1998 Community Crime Prevention Award.

In May 1999, Sousa began to supervise the programming at Milford Youth Center (MYC). He has been a mentor and positive role model to many young people between the ages of 10-17 who attend the MYC. Because of the dedication and service of Leaders like Sousa, the MYC has truly made an impact on the lives of young people. One amazing statistic that can be attributed to his leadership at the center is the decline in the number of juvenile arrests in Milford. In 1996 there were 83,1997-76,1998-44 and in 1999-28. This marks nearly a 60% decline in juvenile arrests.

Sousa was promoted to the position of Educational Program Coordinator at the center. He has worked tirelessly to implement programs at the MYC, including the Computer Literacy Project, which required hours of correspondence with a local Internet Provider to get the access for the center, free of charge. Many who use the center are young people who may not otherwise have access to a computer. The Computer Literacy project works to help young people build skills that will help them compete in today’s technologically based society. Another notable project undertaken by Carlos was the GunLock Safety Project. He worked with the Police Department to obtain funds from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to institute a GunLock Safety Project. The project gives trigger locks to gun owners who may have children in the homes, free of charge.

Sousa has also volunteered with the Violence Intervention Project of Southern Worcester County (VIP), an 11-town consortium of agencies and organizations that works to assist domestic violence victims. The group produces a tri fold business card, which contain emergency numbers and resources for victims of domestic violence. Sousa translated the card in Portuguese, allowing the VIP to offer these resources to victims in the community who may not speak English.

“Carlos is a valuable asset to the commnunity. He has worked tirelessly serving others and helping those less fortunate. His ability to speak three languages has been a great addition to the department,” stated Officer John D. Tiernan, Sr.