Anti-Gang Program Has Its Own Hero

It was actually to be a graduation ceremony, but the atmosphere Wednesday at the Hyde Park Elementary School more resembled a reunion.

Parents, teachers and 250 fourth- and fifth-graders had assembled to receive certificates for participating in the Community Youth Gang Services anti-gang program.

But the spotlight was on 10-year-old Shameka Horton, who was paying her first visit back to school more than two months after she was shot by gang members while playing in her yard.

“At first I didn’t want to come back here. I am scared of this neighborhood after what happened,” Shameka said. “But I’m glad I did . . . it’s good to see my friends again.”

“The children are overjoyed,” said teacher Dorothy Price. “They had written her poems and letters and visited her three times while she was in the hospital. But this is the best wish they could have.”

Shameka, who is now fully recovered, spent 45 days being treated for wounds to her chest and hand. Her mother Carolyn Stokes, 27, said that after the shooting she took her three other children and moved to her mother’s house in Long Beach.

“Shameka is my all-time hero,” said Dale Stewart, 28, who conducted the 15-week course at the school. “This young lady has been very patient, and for her to make this step to come back here is a brave step.”

The gang program has used the shooting as a rallying call for the students to avoid gang membership. The program, which previously emphasized reforming gang members, now targets schools in gang-infested neighborhoods.

After visiting with her friends, Shameka said she was not looking forward to attending her new school in Long Beach in September. “I’ll be lonesome,” she said.