Recycling Young Lives : Low-Rider Bicycle Club in Santa Paula Helps Turn Youngsters Away From Gangs

Fernando Contreras says he was close to joining a gang this time last year.

The Santa Paula seventh-grader was getting Ds and Fs in school and was often reprimanded for cursing, missing classes and fighting.

But rather than becoming a gang member, Fernando joined a cycling group called Santa Paula Youth in Action--a community-based organization of parents and activists, who work with youth at risk of becoming involved with gangs.

Since then, Fernando said his life has taken a different turn.

“It really helps me stay out of trouble,” said Fernando, 13. “I’m getting A’s, Bs and just a few Cs, and I have many new friends, who have the same goals that I have.”

Fernando is one of about 60 youngsters ages 12 to 22 who have joined the after-school club, which was formed in December, 1993.

“Our goal is not to break gangs up, but to stop the violence in the streets,” said Javier Nava, the group’s director. “Kids need to belong to a group where they can socialize and where they can experience togetherness and a sense of belonging.”

Since its formation, the club has grown into a low-rider bike club, in which members custom-build their bicycles. Unlike a regular bicycle, a low-rider is only about three feet high and it is often decorated with a radio, speakers and fancy flashlights. These fancy wheels cost a minimum of $300 and some riders have spent as much as $1,000.

As a cycling group, the youngsters have participated in three Christmas parades--taking home first-place trophies each time--and attended bike shows from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles.

“I really like bikes and that’s one of the reasons I joined the club,” said Stephanie Villalobos, 16. “I’m mechanically inclined, so I get to help other kids put their bikes together.”

Before the group transformed into a low-rider bike club, its usual activities consisted of camping trips, carwashes and social events.

The idea for the youth group grew out of Nava’s desire to help prevent teen-agers from experiencing a life similar to his youth. He was a gang member, a heroin addict and later an inmate at a state prison, he said.

“For many years, I saw my family suffered because of my gang affiliation and drug use,” said Nava, 44. “I nearly lost my only son, my family and myself. That’s why I want to help kids.”

At the age of 18, while attending Moorpark College, Nava said that he began smoking marijuana. That was the beginning of a 22-year journey that killed his dream of becoming a veterinarian and landed him in a state prison for three years.

“When I got out of prison, I promised myself that I would not go back to my old lifestyle and that I would do anything I could to prevent kids from taking a similar path,” said the Santa Paula native who now works as a carpenter--a skill he learned as a teen-ager working on his father’s ranch in Santa Paula.

Shortly after he left prison in 1991, Nava returned to Santa Paula and became an active member of the local Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which he had attended as a child. After a few months, Nava said he began to teach catechism and as a result became friends with many youngsters in the community, he said.

“The well-behaved kids would put me in touch with the not so well-behaved ones, and that gave me a chance to know everybody,” Nava said.

Meanwhile, Nava also met Tommy Frutos--a Ventura College student who works part time as a counselor at the Santa Paula School District.

“I was really concerned that kids, particularly kids from low-income families, don’t have a support group to turn to when they need help,” Frutos said. “I’m really pleased with what we have been able to accomplish.”

These days, the club meets as often as once a week at the church and holds several monthly events.

To become a member, youngsters must sign a one-page contract agreeing to, among other things, maintain a C average at school, avoid using foul language and not behave in an abusive manner toward others.

To pay for field trips and club expenses, members often hold fund-raising activities, including carwashes and dances.

And when a member is unable to pay for a bicycle, Nava said that he usually finds a resident or a merchant who is willing to sponsor the member. Since its founding, the organization has generated about $6,000 from fund-raising events and received $4,000 in donations from the community, Nava said.

“The community has helped us a lot,” said Nava, who serves without pay.

Recently, the Santa Paula City Council agreed to give the club $500, and in exchange club members will remove graffiti from city streets. Santa Paula relies on volunteers to paint over its graffiti, said City Manager Arnold Dowdy.

The group intends to use the funds to purchase trophies to be awarded during its second annual bike competition Monday.

“I think that they have done great things for the community, without a lot of government assistance,” said Councilwoman Laura Espinosa during an interview.

Santa Paula Police Chief Walter Adair said the city needs more groups like Santa Paula Youth in Action to prevent teen-agers from joining gangs.

“The leaders of the group have worked really hard to show kids positive directions in life, and to give some of them opportunities that otherwise they wouldn’t have,” Adair said. “It’s groups like them that helps to create a better community.”