Yesterday I sat in a four hour training about gangs and the involvement of children. The purpose of the training was to extend to us the knowledge of the local gangs, how to identify them, outreach programs, how to interact with them and the utter dangers that many of our children face each day.
We were informed that there are several types of young gang members. There is the "wanna be" gang member. These type of kids tend to be a rule abiding child at home and then dress and act the part at school. There is the "gotta be" gang members which are the kids that feel some level of pressure or desire to be in a gang. An "opportunistic" gang member are those who have joined gangs for the money. Next are the "family" gang members. These gang members come from a lineage of gang members. These kids have parents that are members, uncles, cousins, grandparents and on and on. These kids generally don't have an option and know no another type of lifestyle.
I was reminded of a 13 year old boy that I worked with a few years ago. I'll refer to him as Justin. I met with Justin one cold November morning for a brief check-in regarding negative reports from his teachers. He sat with a sullen face and glared at his shoes. I had noticed over the course of the last few weeks a change in his demeanor and dress. I had asked him a few weeks ago if anything was wrong and he declined. I thought he was simply struggling with adjusting to high school.
On this day I my worry was heightened. I started to ask Justin questions as to what was happening at school or at at home that is causing him to lose focus in school. Justin began to cry. In between coughing and belting tears, Justin managed to sputter that I needed to call his mom. Immediately I felt chills race around my body as my heart doubled in rate. Justin's voice quivered as spoke, he never lifted his head, his hands were clamped around his backpack straps near his shoulders and these giant rounded tears streamed down his face.
For the last several weeks Justin had been approached at school by a specific gangs members. At different times throughout the days they would buddy up to him, make him feel included and "cool." They invited him to hang out with them at lunch, before and after school. Justin politely declined these offers. Justin knew that these kids were in a gang and he was trying very hard to not be involved.
The gang boys continued to court Justin for several weeks until their patience ran out. Several of them cornered him and lacking politeness explained to him that they were recruiting him for their gang on orders from a higher up member (an adult). Justin declined. They warned him that eventually he would have to agree. They approached him everyday for the rest of that week. Justin, terrified, was unable to tell anyone.
All the while I was receiving reports from teachers stating that were frustrated and disappointed in Justin for laziness in his work and lack of focus in class.
The next week the gang boys again cornered Justin and handed him a bag of drugs. They explained to him how much he needed to sell it for and that he had to give them the money the following day. The discipline action for not complying was injury to his younger sister. Justin cried, sobbed and shook with mortal fear. He arrived the next day and handed the demanded money to the gang members. He paid them with his own money and had thrown out the drugs. They approached him everyday following, gave him drugs and expected payment the following day. Justin quickly ran out of ways to pay for the drugs. He stole from his mother, begged his sister, and finally had to sell the drugs.
All the while I was receiving reports from teachers stating that were frustrated and disappointed in Justin for laziness in his work and lack of focus in class.
Justin's mother found him curled in a ball in his room one afternoon. When she approached him she in a motherly way reached out to raise his chin and found blood running down his face. She pulled him close to her heart and held him while rocking and telling him that he could share with her whatever it was that ailed him. Justin refused, but soon he broke down and revealed his horror story.
Justin's mother was terrified. By this time the gang members had reported to Justin that they would kill his mother and sister if he did not comply with their demands. They surely had the means and they were taking orders from older leaders in this well known gang.
Justin and his mother sat in front of me visibly shaking from their core. They nearly jumped out of their skin each time someone knocked on the door, made a loud noise or the telephone rang. They let their unquestionable fear flow into my room with fervor. They begged me for answers. They begged for solutions. The begged for security. The begged to be reassured. They begged me to make them safe.
All the while I was receiving reports from teachers stating that were frustrated and disappointed in Justin for laziness in his work and lack of focus in class.
Some children are forced to fear more about being murdered each night than whether or not they are successful in school.
No comments:
Post a Comment