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Former LA gang members take their message to Alabama
Los Angeles Times
Former gang members from Los Angeles have made numerous trips to Alabama to try to steer young people away from the gang life. In parts of Prichard, Ala., children walk through broken glass and debris in bare feet. The roads, some unpaved, flood in the rain. Violence is pervasive. Young people call the community “Death Valley.”

Prisoner offers straight talk on gang violence…hope for a new …
Stanly News & Press
As a three-year old, George McLean witnessed his drunken father beat his hardworking mom to unconsciousness. There are also memories of his mother on her knees, her hands reaching out to the TV screen, joining the TV evangelist in prayer for help. He also remembers the heartbreak for his mom when she lost her job at the J.P Stevens towel plant in their hometown of Laurinburg – a moment that George now considers a destructive turning point in his life, a point when he found a new family within the gang lifestyle.

This from the UK

Times Online

Anti-gang scheme cuts violence by nearly 50%
Times Online
Mr Stevenson said they intended “to keep up the momentum”” after research carried out in the US suggested that gang violence soared again when intervention …

East End gangster warns kids about drugs and gangs danger
East London Advertiser
By Mike Brooke GANG members are to be invited to make a new start in life …
“Many kids in England are getting sucked into the gang culture and drug,” said Pridmore. “They think it sounds glamorous and cool.

“But it’s a violent and dangerous world that only leads to prison or a box six feet under. I’ve found that kids will listen to me because of what I’ve been through.”

Check out www.myspace.com/crownoflifecomics page as well as http://www.gangs187.com for Christian based videos of former gang members and other gang information

At first I thought this was a really bad idea, now I like it. A lot of people never get to see these parts of town and form judgments based on lack of information, perhaps if people see the reality there might be more action.

Los Angeles bus tours to offer visitors a look at cradle of nation’s gang culture
Irish Times
A GROUP of civic activists, united by faith and a belief that the poor economy in the interior of Los Angeles is a social injustice, is preparing to offer bus tours of some of the city’s grittiest pockets, including decayed public housing, sites of shoot-outs and streets ravaged by racial unrest.

One in 5 town residents belong to a gang…

Gangs plague small E Wash town of Outlook
Seattle Times
The Yakima Herald-Republic reports that officials estimate one out of every five residents in the town of 470 belongs to a gang. Violence has become a problem, including the wounding of a Yakima County sheriff’s deputy last summer.

With the vast majority of towns now reporting gang activity this realization is an interesting admission

Gangs exist in ‘nice’ communities
Dunwoody Crier
Speaking to the Dunwoody-Chamblee Parents Council on Internet safety and gang intervention, Whaley defined a gang as three or more people who commit illegal …

This from SafeYouth.org

Not Just an Inner-City Problem
Although many people think of gangs as a problem confined to the inner-city neighborhoods, that is clearly no longer the case. In the past few decades there has been a dramatic increase in the growth of gang problems in smaller cities, towns, and villages.^[16] When surveyed in 1999, 66 percent of large cities, 47 percent of suburban counties, 27 percent of small cities, and 18 percent of rural counties reported active youth gangs.^[17]

Gangs in suburban, small town, and rural areas are different than gangs in large cities. They include more females, white, and younger youth, and are more likely to have ethnically and racially mixed memberships.^[18]

Gang behavior and the lack of fathers in homes | eLetters
The Rev. Leon Kelly makes a very revealing statement when he says, “Moms are grieving because they feel like they’ve lost their kids to this [gang] behavior.”

This would be a great step forward in a lot of cities, getting experience for youth and allowing them to showcase their talents to prospective employers.

“Hire-A-Youth” Day
SDNN
… ages 14 to 24, obtained hands-on work experience in business and resident surveying, feeding the homeless, neighborhood cleanup, and gang intervention. …