Council Panel Urges Tripling Funding to Gang Truce Group
A volunteer group struggling to keep intact a weakening gang truce in the San Fernando Valley received help from a Los Angeles city budget panel that Tuesday recommended more than tripling its funding.
The City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee voted to increase funding for the nonprofit Valley Unity Peace Treaty from $40,000 to $140,000, an increase that officials say will pay for full-time gang mediators. The action must be approved by the full City Council within the next month.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Sept. 8, 1995 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday September 8, 1995 Valley Edition Metro Part B Page 3 No Desk 2 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Gang truce--A story in Wednesday’s Times incorrectly reported the amount of money that a Los Angeles City Council panel recommended awarding to Valley Unity Peace Treaty, a nonprofit group that is working to keep intact a gang truce. The panel recommended an increase from $40,000 to $80,000.
The truce among Latino gang members in the Valley began in October, 1993, but police say a rash of shooting deaths over 2 1/2 weeks indicates that it may be unraveling.
Steve Martinez, a former gang member and a leader in the peace treaty group, said the truce has been strained in recent weeks but is nonetheless still in effect.
Funding for the peace treaty group was increased at the recommendation of Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents parts of the northeast Valley and has long supported the truce.
He said the increased funding will be used to hire three or four full-time mediators who will work the streets, talking to gang members about reducing tensions.
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