Breaking up the gang

NEA Today, Sep 1998

Job: Counselor, Granada Hills High School, California, and professor of Chicano studies and psychology at East Los Angeles Community College Bright Idea:

After working with gang members for 20 years as a teacher and counselor, Hemandez knows it takes "a community of adults"-parents, employers, judges, educators, recreational directors, ministers, police officers, and coaches"to shepherd them into the adult world."

Hemandez cites Guillermo, a chronic truant, as a sad example of what happens when this network is absent.

With a vigilant mentor, the boy improved his attendance at junior high.

The principal recognized his progress, "giving him a sense of belonging and motivation," says Hernandez. But, in high school, Guillermo lost his support system and began to flounder. Within two months, he was incarcerated.

Stories like this fill Peace in the Streets: Breaking the Cycle of Gang Violence, Hernandez's compelling account of his work in South Central Los Angeles and a guide to ending gang violence.

Changing gang members "takes time, patience, support, therapy, mentoring, monitoring, and teaching new skills," he says. "It takes good probation and police officers-and schools with small student-teacher ratios."

Impact:

Among Hernandez's success stories: "Happy," a 15-year-old alcoholic who went on to find steady employment and a dedicated wife-and is now raising "high-achieving children."

For More:

Peace in the Streets (Child Welfare League of America Press, $14.95) is available at bookstores, or call 800/ 407-6273. E-mail Hernandez at xiomata@hotmail.com.