By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – During his State of the Union address, President Obama called on community leaders to help find solutions to violence. A local non-profit took the message to heart and met with students at a charter school.

“Ten to 15 percent of the students that were causing an issue were being destructive on so many levels,” says Jade Edwards of Truebright Academy Charter School.

She says the school wanted to curb in-school violence, so they called in Mothers in Charge to mentor disruptive students twice a week.

“Kids are able to talk about issues that are going on at home; some of the students brothers have been murdered in the past year, moms have been murdered,” says Edwards. “It’s personal for me because I have a son who’s in jail for murder and I have a son who was murdered.”

Vernetta Burger of Mothers in Charge is one of the mentors.

“If they are not in touch with what they are thinking and what they are feeling and they react then it can lead to some trouble,” says Burger.

Tahill is one of the 22 students in the nine week program and says he’s learning to control himself.

“When I was walking home I was thinking a bad thought. Something told me to do something, but I didn’t,” Tahill explains.