MOORPARK : Group Helps Youths Steer Clear of Gangs, Alter Focus of Lives

Latino parents and community leaders in Moorpark formed an organization to keep teen-agers out of gangs, and the teen-agers got to name the group.

They called it Our Town.

The name shows that “this is our town also, not just the adults’, not just the City Council’s, not just business,’ ” said Lauri Hatcher, 17, who joined the group when it started 1 1/2 years ago.

The adult founders of Our Town said they decided to form the group after the city’s first gang-related shooting in late 1989.

“I was alarmed at some of the reactions of some of the people” to gang activity in the city, said Bernardo M. Perez, a city councilman and one of the group’s founders. “I felt that there were some kids that would be unfairly judged, that all kids would be lumped together in the public eye.”

Although Our Town is open to all Moorpark residents aged 13 to 19, its members are primarily Latinos from the city’s middle- and lower-income downtown neighborhood. They are among the children who are least likely to have extracurricular activities to keep them busy after school, said Vickie McGowan, who works with the group.

But there is more to Our Town than keeping teen-agers busy.

The teen-age officers run the twice-monthly meetings at Moorpark Community High School. Under the eye of the adults, the youths make the decisions when planning activities such as dances, camp-outs, skating rink visits and community food drives.

Sometimes the meetings are used for workshops on issues ranging from filling out job applications to maintaining personal hygiene, Perez said. Guest speakers included Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, who answered questions about individual and police rights.

Our Town members said the group has led to changes in their lives, from making better grades to building self-confidence.

“I pay more attention in school,” said Arturo Villa, 16. “I don’t get in as much trouble on the streets. In the meetings, they show us we have a role in life, that it’s not just to go out and have fun. It makes us stop and think.”