HUNTINGTON BEACH : Former Gang Member to Lead Workshop
Former gang member George Morales will deliver an anti-gang message at a workshop at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oakview Community Center, 17261 Oak Lane.
The free workshop is designed “to make kids aware about gangs, so they don’t glorify it as much,” said Maricela Rios, an organizer with the Community Service Program’s gang prevention effort.
Morales, a Tustin resident, grew up on the streets of Santa Ana. A member of the F-Troop gang, he said he used and sold drugs from the age of 15. After serving 15 months of a two-year sentence for selling PCP, he turned his life around, he said.
Mixing comedy and harsh descriptions of reality, Morales will talk about the consequences of gang activity, give advice to parents and answer questions. He will also display some prison-made knives to show young adults what prison is really like.
“I will just try to teach them how not to make the same mistakes I made--and to the parents, not to make the same mistakes my parents made,” Morales said.
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