Fine, but Far From Enough

Despite a desperately tight budget that is certain to require severe cuts in many worthy programs, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors managed to find $2.9 million to fund Hope in Youth, a new community-based anti-gang program aimed at keeping youngsters out of serious trouble.

That is the largest single allocation ever to a local gang-prevention program. Though laudable in these tight times, it is also an indication of just how underfunded Community Youth Gang Services and other anti-gang programs have been in their battles to save children.

Youth Gang Services targets the toughest gangbangers and gang hot spots. Hope in Youth will pay attention to the young “wanna-bes” and their families before these youngsters embrace gang life. Both programs are brainchildren of United Neighborhoods Organization, the South Central Organizing Committee and newer church-based community organizations.

In communities patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department and the L.A. Police Department, gang-related violence claimed the lives of 340 Latinos and 179 African-Americans last year. This year, black homicides are down because of an ongoing truce between the two major black gangs, the Bloods and the Crips.

There are other gang peacemakers in Los Angeles. Among the better known is Father Gregory J. Boyle, a Jesuit priest who is leaving the Dolores Mission Church on the Eastside. Boyle argues that jobs are the best weapon against gangs. He has used donations attracted by his high profile in the media to pay, at last count, 63 gang members to paint out graffiti, maintain the church grounds and do other odd jobs. The pay, even at $5 or $6 an hour, is enough to make a difference for many young men and women.

More jobs are an integral part of any prescription against gangs. So are more police officers. And so are programs, like Hope in Youth, that address the social problems at the root of the gang problem.