Teen Gangs & Community Violence

If you drive down a highway in Los Angeles California it is almost impossible to avoid seeing graffiti or some sign of gang involvement. In the past decade teen gang problems have sky rocketed. Some people cannot even go outside wearing a certain color without being in some sort of danger.

Older gang members are getting smarter and recruiting younger and younger youth. The younger a teen is the more he is likely to be brainwashed easier. Also, the teen gang member will be more loyal and trustworthy.

A recent report was done in Harlem and a young man named Holiday says "There is too much teen gang violence in my neighborhood." Harlem recently held a meeting for people of the community. The rally was held to let people know how dangerous gangs can be if they are not stopped. Also, one reason the meeting was held was to hear from the youth who are growing up in the Harlem area.

If you look at the past ten years, Harlem and New York in general had only around 20 different street gangs. Now there are more than 40 and it continues to grow on a monthly basis. Obviously with gang numbers increasing, so does the number of shooting and overall violence. Almost every member of Harlem don't even feel safe walking down the side walk during the day.

The meeting held in Harlem came up with some good reasons why teen gang violence has increased. Some of the ideas are listed below:

• The top reason was due to bullying. Or in other words teens getting bullied into joining gangs.
• Some teens admit that easy access to weapons and guns was one reason why.
• And last but not least is the lack of positive role models.

Teen gang violence won't stop unless we do something as a community first. If you want to get involved contact your city office and ask what you and your family can do to help. If you are a parent and suspect your teen son or daughter may be involved in a gang, give us a call to see what type of help we can offer. A troubled teen boot camp or boarding school may be the perfect solution that could change their lives around.