Teen-Agers Make Pitch Against Gangs

The bet would not be settled until the bottom of the last inning, when Ziggy, a Vineland gang member since he was 11, swatted the ball into the outfield for a double, sending home Dora, whose brother wants to be a cop.

Losing would have meant the group of 15 Sun Valley teen-agers would each have to perform eight hours of community service under the direction of the San Fernando Valley Partnership, a group that works against alcohol and substance abuse.

But that hit by Sigifredo (Ziggy) Bravo, 17, means that the partnership will now sponsor one of four teams in a softball league the teen-agers are trying to create.

“It was just a regular hit,” said Bravo, after being mobbed by his friends on an infield at Las Palmas Park in San Fernando. “I didn’t think it would win it. It was exciting.”

The idea for the softball league came from the teen-agers themselves after they were invited to join a Youth Empowerment Committee set up by the East Valley Partnership Community Council, which works with the San Fernando Valley Partnership.

The committee is made up of a wide range of youngsters, including both student achievers and gang members, but they have something in common. All want to improve their community.

Using $10,000 in grant money from the program “Keeping Youth Doing Something” and the East Valley partnership, the teen-agers are trying to start the four-team softball league in Sun Valley. They hope playing softball will help keep the younger kids in their neighborhoods away from drugs and gangs.

“It’s not a good life,” said Osvaldo Nunez, 17, known as Ozzie among his fellow Vineland gang members. He joined the Youth Empowerment Committee about a year and a half ago, and has not been as active in gang activities as a result.

“I still play ball with them; we still hang out,” Nunez said. “They respect why I’m doing this. It’s helping our people.”

The teen-agers said most kids turn to gangs because there is simply nothing else to do in their neighborhoods. “It seemed like the thing to do,” said Rudy Cardenas, 19, who had been a gang member since he was 14.

Life has gotten better because of a peace treaty established among the gangs in the last year, but sports are needed to help reinforce it, he said.

“We’re doing something positive,” said Cardenas, who with Nunez was one of the first to join the Youth Empowerment Committee. “Now things are starting to change.”

Paul Palato, a neighborhood specialist with the partnership and the softball team’s coach, tried to create a good mix on the committee. “They each bring their own expertise,” Palato said.

“The gang members bring some very practical ways of preventing drugs and gang involvement.” Palato said.