Kids, Gangs, and Alternatives

For kids that are like me, coming here helps me understand that you can do it too. So you don't have to join gangs or anything like that"

Why gangs? Why gang membership? Because they are better than the alternative. So the anti-gang is beefing up the alternatives.

There was a gang-related shooting in Nampa, November 19, 2004. Nobody was injured.

Welding Shop Helps At-Risk Youth By Thanh Tan--December 8, 2004

For the last two years, welding instructor Juan Martinez has cooperated with OG's Basic Academy for Delinquency (OG's BAD) in Nampa to set up a shop at BSU for at-risk students. "The students love it. They absolutely love coming over there," said OG's BAD Director Steve Torrano. "They get to use their artistic talent and it's just a venue for them that they've not experienced before."

A few of the students are in gangs, but most are not... yet. "I think what they're looking for is just something to hang on to. I use the analogy.... life is whizzing by these kids. Like they're standing by a subway station," Martinez said.

Martinez and Torrano want these teenagers to be free to be themselves in a safe environment. Students like 17-year-old Xebra Garza say they have come to enjoy the experience of learning a new craft like welding. Like many of the other students, Garza has chosen not to attend regular public school.

"For kids that are like me, coming here helps me understand that you can do it too. So you don't have to join gangs or anything like that," said OG's BAD student Xebra Garza, 17. She says she is now seriously considering a career in welding.

There is another reason some of the students may identify with Martinez so well. Martinez says he is a firm opponent of violent activities, but "I'm not anti-gang, it's impossible for me to be anti-gang. I was jumped at a very early age... What I like to do is lay out choices (for these kids)." While some may consider this a shocking method, others say it is important to employ different strategies to help kids who are on the edge.

Judge Sergio Guttierez, a member of the steering committee of Canyon County's new Public Safety League, says outreach opportunities like OG's BAD and Martinez's welding workshop can be effective for certain young people.

"While it's not directly telling them to get out of gangs, (some alternative) structures and strategies can create an environment that will help kids get out of the gang culture and be law-abiding, productive citizens," he said.

OG's BAD Director Steve Torrano and Martinez say that If kids are kept off the streets, they will have a better chance to redirect their energy toward a safer life. "Again, I don't advocate for the hard-core gang members," Martinez said. "But I know that the ones who are on the fringe-- they're the ones that we need to grab a hold of and embrace."

There is a growth of gang membership mostly among second-generation Hispanic kids.

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"Gang Summit"--Nampa hears parents, kids on gang violence--Trouble blamed on poor choices, peer pressure--Novmeber 23, 2004.

NAMPA — Nampa residents and city officials say they will work together to put an end to a recent streak of gang-related violence that has plagued the community.

About 100 parents and their children — some gang members and former gang members — met privately with Nampa police and officials Monday at the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho. Salud Y Provecho, an outreach of the Idaho Migrant Council, organized the session to bring people together to talk and to encourage gang members not to get involved in current problems in Nampa and Caldwell.

Afterward, participants said they felt they made some progress and plan to continue talking about how they can cooperate to curb gang problems. "I really think we need more of this open and honest communication," Mayor Tom Dale said.

Two men have been killed in Caldwell and several have been wounded in shootings that officials say were related to gangs. Arrests have been made in all the shootings except the August drive-by slaying of Carlos Chavez, 22. Since July, reports of shots fired throughout Canyon County totaled more than 200; about 101 were in Caldwell.

Prior to the meeting, three mothers told The Idaho Statesman that police and school employees designate their children as gang members if they wear certain colors, if they have siblings who run with gangs or if they talk to kids at school who associate with gangs. "I don't feel they should be labeling anybody," said Mary Longoria, a North Nampa resident and mother of seven. "They keep picking on certain ones. I'm saying 'be fair.' "All we want is for our kids to get a little respect," said Nina Barela, a mother of two.

Longoria said her daughter was the victim of a drive-by shooting Friday at the Nampa Reel Theater parking lot, but was treated otherwise. Her daughter watched a film at the theater with a friend and had been picked up by the friend's brother just before the shooting. Longoria said the friend's brother may have had a beef with the person who shot at them. But her daughter has nothing to do with gangs.

Parents said officers stop their children on the street or in parks if they're in a group. Often, police photograph and interview them. Erma Chavez said her son is harassed by gang members if he doesn't wear colors and by the police if he does. "I got him on the right track, but the harassment has to stop. It's really tough out there," Chavez said.

Nampa Police Cpl. Curt Shankel said officers are just trying to get information from the kids, not harass them. The mothers said gangs are a problem and sometimes it is the parents' fault for not intervening, but most problems with gangs begin with peer pressure and the choices kids make. After the meeting, Longoria said she felt better about efforts police and city officials are making to deal with gangs.

Salud y Provecho staff members hope to hold a similar meeting in Caldwell. "We want to empower parents and help them understand the (justice) system. We want to give them a voice," said Albert Pacheco, Idaho Migrant Council executive director.

Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas said the city is working hard to overcome gang problems, including having officers try to enlist the help of known gang members.

Comments

[joe]

if look like a duck .quack like a duck...hangout with ducks.....you get to die like a duck.

[cynthia avila]

do you guys have boxing?