Former gang member Jahma Gibbons says churches need to do more to steer people away from a life on the streets.Mr Gibbons a violent heroin dealer until his barber convinced him to turn to God seven years ago says church leaders are not saying enough about the gun violence which has seen 14 men shot dead in two years.The father-of-two is now writing a book telling his own story and explaining why he thinks so many Bermudians end up joining gangs.Echoing recent comments from Sandys-based preacher Scott Smith, Mr Gibbons says society, and the church in particular, needs to play a more active role encouraging people to lead good lives. “It’s nobody’s fault, but a lot of things need to change if things are going to improve,” Mr Gibbons told The Royal Gazette.“We need more fathers and more role models. There’s a lot of men out there who want to be a part of a child’s life, but mothers are angry or for whatever reason it doesn’t happen.“It’s not just regular people, but also the churches: they are supposed to lead the people into the right way. Right now the churches are pretty much quiet in Bermuda.“They are not getting out to the people on the streets. Sometimes there’s a church right there, on the same corner where guys are selling drugs on the street. But they’re not reaching out to them.”About 200 people gathered at a vigil at Victor Scott Primary School earlier this month, to mark the first anniversary of the fatal shooting of Kimwandae Walker.“That’s ridiculous. It should have been half Bermuda there,” said Mr Gibbons. “That’s what’s wrong. People say it’s not my backyard, it’s not my problem, but Bermuda is only a few miles long. It’s everyone’s backyard.”New National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief this week announced plans for a buy-back guns programme, in which people will be rewarded thousands of dollars for handing in guns used in shootings.Mr Gibbons reacted: “He’s right to come up with ideas. Ideas are better than no ideas. But you’ve got to think of the repercussions for handing out rewards for people who hand out guns.“If that gun is giving me power, why am I going to hand it in unless I can use the money to get more or better guns?“On the flip side, it may work if a good citizen finds a gun. So it all depends on the way it’s handled.”But he warned Mr Perinchief’s goal of wiping all guns off the streets is unlikely to be achieved.“I doubt it,” he said. “Before, the big guys had guns. Now it’s one or two guns being passed around the whole load of guys. They obviously have a lot of bullets getting in because people are getting shot ten or 12 times. They must be getting a regular supply.“In my day there was all sorts of ways of getting things in. The police get smarter, people get smarter too. There’s always going to be someone in positions in police or customs looking to make an extra dollar. There’s corrupt people around the whole world.”Mr Gibbons said of his book, which he is currently writing while in North Carolina: “I’m trying to get a message across to people who are not in gangs, trying to give them a vision of what people go through to end up in gangs.“It’s not just something people choose to do. I came up with a single mother, my father was not in my life. The lack of a father figure, the influence of TV and music, all these things play a part.“If you have a parent that works two or three jobs, how can you expect them to raise the child in the right way?“The child goes on the streets, finds friends and companionship, sees people on the street like him, starts selling weed and it progresses.“You end up with young guys there shooting each other and the crazy things going on now. A lot of it is to do with Bermuda itself, its size, lack of activities for young people to do.“I want everybody to read it so they understood what a lot of people are going through. But also so-called gangsters: they need to understand there’s a better side to the world. They don’t have to stay where they are. I want them to feel they have a way out.“There’s no easy answer. This has been blowing up for years. Our young people, they are screaming out for help.”The 34-year-old son of Olympic medal-winning boxer Clarence Hill, Mr Gibbons hit the headlines last April after saying gun death victims were being haunted by their own lifestyles.After that article, he says he received death threats from gang members.He reflected: “This is not about snitching. This is about what’s right and what’s wrong. I’m not saying everything they’re doing is wrong and everything I’m doing is right.“We all have a part to play in this, from politicians to the regular guy on the street. I want everyone to be able to come together to make a better Bermuda. Just war and fighting and killing each other: that’s what I’m against.”