Letter from the GRIPE founders

Dear Community Member,

Over the years those of us involved with gang members, in one forum or another, have realized that the community must be made aware of the gangs affect upon our lifestyle. We have seen gang members being arrested and convicted of their crimes and yet the gang continues to grow. How can that be?  Let me share with you what is happening around our country.

Gangs are out recruiting our youth. Our youth has become the gangs’ recruitment base; if someone gets arrested and the gang needs to continue their criminal enterprise they just recruit some kids. We often hear people say, “not my kid, my kid is a good kid, I don’t have to worry about him”. Or “why don’t you concentrate on the bad kids, lock them all up”, even “they are gang members who cares what happens to them, just keep them out of my neighborhood”. The fact of the matter is we all need to care.

If there is a gang problem in a neighboring community you can rest assured that law enforcement is addressing that problem. The gang begins to feel the pressure, they are getting arrested and their business starts hurting. What happens next is logical. The gang migrates to the nearest area where they can conduct business without problems. YOUR community, they need help and they approach YOUR children. The gang tells them all about the money they make, the lifestyle they live and how good it is to be a member. They usually forget to mention why they left the last community or where all the old members are (usually prison, if they are lucky). So your child listens to these people who must be right, their CD’s say so. 

The men and women of law enforcement are doing their job; they are investigating and putting away these criminals that belong to gangs. We have cracked down on drugs and violence; but is that the key? If we let our children join gangs the violence will come. These gangs call themselves “associations”, “clicks”, “crews”, “posses”, “families”, “organizations”, “friends”, “taggers”, “hommies”, etc. and they talk to our children about the benefits of gang membership long before we have any indication that our children are considering that lifestyle. The children in the Middle and Junior High Schools are the gangs’ recruitment bases. How can we stop this? What is needed?

One of the things we need to address with respect to the youth gang and violence issue is the lack of Public Awareness. When our members speak to community groups the question asked most is: “How do I know if my child is in a gang?” We also have parents telling us: “I didn’t know my child was in a gang until I was told by the police”. I don’t know if these parents are in denial or if they truly don’t understand what they see. We have been at programs were the kids had arts and crafts projects hanging in the corridors. Do you know that the teachers did not recognize the gang symbols that were on these projects? It was clear to me that these things were gang related but these teachers were not educated as to gang awareness. We should not blame the teachers – we MUST educate them.

What we have come to understand is that there is a need to educate the parents, teachers, social workers and anyone who is working with our youth. We need to educate them about gangs, the problems that gangs cause and how to identify them. That is what this site is about, education!

We believe that for every kid you keep from the gang lifestyle you save another five. Every gangbanger recruits at least five members in their lifetime, probably more.  This is most likely a conservative estimation. We can’t expect to save youth from gangs, and the violence that goes with it, if we cannot recognize the signs of someone becoming involved in a gang. We have members that work in the Courts of New York City and every day they hear kids stories, some believable some not so believable. They hear about parents who want to get their kids out of gangs and kids who want out but they have no idea how to go about leaving the gang.

If someone wants out and enough time passes before they can get help, their chances of getting out become greatly reduced. Everyone believes that the kids mixed up with gangs are “BAD kids” but that’s not always the case. There are kids trying to do the right thing that may have a gang member as a friend and become mixed up in the gang influence.

We must give our youth an understanding of the price one pays when joining a gang and the tools to resist the gang lifestyle. They must be shown that there is a better alternative and that education is a major part of their ability to succeed. Once you show them how to resist the lifestyle you must give them the opportunity to achieve their goals. You can’t just say: gangs are bad and crime is bad, don’t do that, stay out of trouble and everything will be all right. You MUST give them the opportunity and the ability to achieve their goals.

One more thing we would like to impress upon you is always talk with the kids and listen to what they have to say. Listening is very important. We need to take the time to listen, that’s not easy - we need to practice this skill. Don’t cut your child off because you don’t agree with something they are saying or because it’s the wrong answer. Listen to what they say and wait to make your point; you’ll get more information that way and then maybe you’ll be in a position to help. Don’t take everything said as gospel, but don’t dismiss everything they say as unlikely. Check it out!!! Complacency is the problem. You have to get involved even if it’s just a phone call to alert someone to a possible problem. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Remember Talk and Listen!!!