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Miriam Maravillo
English 114B
Professor Melisa Malvin
April 5, 2016
Gang Prevention Program
Gangs have not been a recent issue in society, they are seen literally throughout history
and even still seen today in many parts of the world. There are different forms of gangs, such as
street gangs, youth gangs, and terrorist gangs but there are many of these gang members are
called wannbe gang members, which the urban dictionary defines them as a person who is not
quite associated with a crime related gang but rather in the path in which they are slowly
progressing to the final stage of involving themselves with the wrong crowd. This means that
the people that consider themselves gangs are not really involved in any crime but are soon to
reach that type of lifestyle. According to the Los Angeles Department, Los Angeles is known as
the gang capitol(Los Angeles Police Department) which reflects an estimate of the
involvement of people that are associated with gangs or people that are in the path to that certain
lifestyle, which demonstrates the troubled situation that is put upon society. Prevention is an
obstacle that many teens face since they are at a certain age where they dont take in
consideration the opinions of others and simply make bad decisions that could have been avoided
at some point. In order to have a certain type of prevention, there should be a gang prevention
program in the city of Canoga Park that allows different resources where a child at risk can come
and change their lifestyle around by having mentors that can help them guide and advise them to
make good decisions.
In the city of Canoga Park, many adolescents join gangs because they dont have a sense
of home. Regularly, facilities like the Gang Prevention Program are located around higher

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violence rate locations where teenagers grew up with violence around them. During the last
three years there have been 491 homicides, nearly 7,407 felony assaults, approximately 5,518
robberies and just under 98 rapes(Los Angeles Police Department). As the statistics show,
violence still exists even today. In the city of Canoga Park, there have been many problems that
involve gang activities where many of the government officials dont acknowledge the fact that
there are many teens that are currently facing troubled situations because of the gang activity that
is going on around them. These children grow up in environments where they feel unsafe and
insecure. When a child feels this type of way, they typically look for comfort or a place where
they feel at home or safe. This is where gangs play an important role on a childs life because
they are able to manipulate young adults in believing that they will do anything to keep them
safe as long as the follow what they are being told to do. Gangs typically fill in the loneliness
when teens feel completely and utterly alone which allows the child to trust and confide in a
group/gang to help him/her feel safe, but if a child had a place where they didnt feel that they
had to be involved with troubled people but rather have a place where they can receive actual
guidance and help these type of children do not need to find comfort with gang members.
The Gang Prevention Program will not only be a place where people can go to get
resources but a place where one is able to feel comfortable enough to feel at home. The Gang
Prevention Program will allow many of the youth to be able to have mentors that will help guide
these teens and have an opportunity to socialize with different type of people around them. Teens
will receive advice from other mentors in who they can look up to, or grow a bond to someone
where they can even consider them family. The mentors will be play an important role to these
teenagers because they will be the ones who can be someone they can relate to when it comes to
troubled situations or obstacles that they encounter. When a person feels at home, they are

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comfortable enough to express themselves and have the ability to communicate about themselves
and behavior and the reasons for acting a certain way towards someone or something. Since the
mentors are going to be someone they can relate to, they are able to give advice on what exactly
is the best fit someone, and/or give resources on how they can receive help and how to make
things better for themselves rather than facing their problems out in the street.
The Gang Prevention Program is based on many of other different community
centers that offer services that deal with gang prevention. The Homeboy Industry is an
organization that serves high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with a continuum of
free services and programs, and operates several social enterprises that serve as job-training
sites (The Homeboy Industry).In other words what the Homeboy Industry organization offers is
a community center where they give a second opportunity to those who were involved in gang
activities and decided to leave the gang association and turn their life around by trying to better
themselves. The services that the program offers includes, tattoo removal, therapy, counseling,
GED courses, employment services, and law services. Similar to the Homeboy Industry, the
Gang Prevention Community Center will have educational services that can offer many
opportunities such as GED programs, tutoring centers, school resource centers, and different
courses that one can take depending on the career they are wanting to pursue. One of the most
important factors in having this specific community center would be to promote education and
encourage many of these teens to continue studying and learning because it would allow them to
overcome their lifestyle they live and basically better themselves by receiving the encouragement
and support to finish school and pursue a career that they desire.
At a certain age, many teens are not able to express themselves and
face their problems with violence or self-harm. For many of the wannabe gang members they

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typically use graffiti as a way to express their commitment to their gang that they belong to but
this type of expression can be used in many different ways and forms. Graffiti which is also
known as tagging is a way that most people express themselves with words. For someone that
has grown up with this certain lifestyle, graffiti is basically the only way they are able to express
themselves or communicate because they have lived their entire life seeing graffiti everywhere.
This eventually leads them to a way to express the way they feel during a certain time in their
lives. For most of the teens, graffiti is seen as an art, it can be a hobby in which they are able to
put their feelings on walls and/or on a piece of paper. When I visited LACMA, there was a
section of a room where children were given certain materials and were able to build or create a
piece of artwork that they were inspired to do after seeing different types of artwork in the
museum. The Gang Prevention Program can offer a space where these teens can use graffiti as an
art and be able to continue to pursue their artwork and display their work in a room where they
can have the freedom to write or do anything they want in order to continue to do what they like
or desire. In many situations art classes can lead to many of the teens to finds their true passion
and create a career that they did not know that existed. In the novel, Twilight: Los Angeles,
1992, by Anna Deavere Smith, one of the interviewers said, It is unfortunate what people do
when they are frustrated and angry (162). When many of these young adults get angry or
frustrated, they get overwhelmed with emotion and let their anger and frustration get the best of
them. When anyone gets in a particular situation when they are mad, they commit actions that
are either expressed in a violent outburst or a put in a situation that they soon regret. To avoid
situations like these, the art center would offer anyone that is facing a difficult time to draw or
display their artwork on a wall without any violence whatsoever, that way art would be the
answer of expressing ones feeling rather than facing their problems with the gang activity. This

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wall would not display acts of violence or represent any gangs whatsoever but it would allow
someone to express themselves with art.
The city of Canoga Park may not have a higher
violence rate as many other places, but the gang activity in Canoga Park still exists. According to
The Los Angeles Daily News, Violent crime rose 11.3 percent and gang crime grew 8 percent in
2014 in the Valley (Smith). Although, gang activity is seen mostly in the city of Los Angeles,
Canoga Parks gang activity has increased. People are unaware of the situation because they
dont focus in small cities such as Canoga Park. If the crime rates keep increasing it means that
young teens are still facing and witnessing violent crimes around them. The GPP, Gang
Prevention Program, will be able to provide a nearby resource center for anyone that is looking
for help, or looking for a gateway from any gang association. Canoga Park would be a great
place to have the Gang Prevention Center because since all the facilities are typically located
around the East/West L.A, Canoga Park would be a local facility that not only teens from Canoga
can come but other teens from different local cities such as West Hills, Chatsworth, Reseda, and
Panorama. Canoga Park would be a shorter distance to travel which means that teens can treat
this center as a school or afterschool program that can be easily accessible without the hassle of
traveling.

Not only will the Gang Prevention Program will be

funded by many of the different facilities that are located in many parts of L.A, but many of the
prevention programs like H.E.L.P.E.R. Foundation, a non-profit organization that was originally
established to provide gang intervention and prevention services"(HELPER Foundation), and the
HomeBoy Industry will be able to contribute to the Gang Prevention Program by being able to
unite each program and help each other when it comes to any resources or guidance. Each of
these centers will give advice and basically mentor the Gang Prevention Program by helping it

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grow and help it become successful like the other programs. By having an association with many
different locations, the GPP will be able to receive funds in order to keep the resource center
alive and running.
For the years to come, the Gang Prevention Program will be a facility
where a troubled or a child at risk can come to better themselves and receive guidance to follow
the right path by having mentors and resources that are able to give them the help they need to
make them successful rather than a simple statistic that is shown throughout history. Many
people believe that if a child is already exposed to the gang violence it is most likely for them to
follow that specific direction of the gang lifestyle that they were exposed to. Rather than
focusing of what a child will most likely become of them, it time to create a space where a child
does not have to a simple statistic or number but rather take action and build a safe place
where they can receive the help that they need by having a space that builds a space where they
feel safe and secure; a place where they can call home.

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Works Cited page

"Gangs." - Los Angeles Police Department. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
"Make A Donation." Homeboy Industries. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Smith, Amma Deavere. Guide to Twilight Los Angeles: Conceived, Written and Performee by
Anna Deavere Smith ; Directed by Marc Levin. Brookline, MA: Facing History and
Ourselves National Foundation, 2001. Print.
Smith, Dakota. "San Fernando Valley Sees Rise in Violent Crime and Gang Crime." San
Fernando Valley Sees Rise in Violent Crime and Gang Crime. Los Angeles Daily News, 4
Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.