Stop Tearing the Heart Out of L.A.

I first met Rocio Martinez at a St. Patrick's Day Party. She sat across from me, an attractive Latina woman with an underlying edge, and after staring past each other uncomfortably for a while we struck up a conversation. My first thought, when she told me that she was a Youth Relations Associate in the Crime Prevention Unit for the LA Unified School District was "kismet!" Here I was, developing a TV series about young Latinas in gangs and the expert had fallen right into my lap. Little did I realize how much more than that our chance meeting would become.

Rocio is one of a fifteen-person team who responds, along with the LASPD (Los Angeles School Police Department), to the frequent phone calls that come into their office when there is violence, usually gang related, at a school in the LAUSD. She is the one who the kids will speak to, the one that can interpret their communications, someone to whom they are willing to explain their beef - not to the teachers, certainly not to the cops-- just to her.

And why's that? What is it about Rocio that makes these kids on the edge of the abyss trust her? Well, for one thing, they know that Rosi, as they call her, can relate -she used to be one of them. A girl who grew up in the hood, Rocio has been intimately involved with gangs her whole life. "La Leona" (The Lioness), as she's known because of her ferocity in protecting her three sons, raised her kids in South Central. Her husband was a member of the Westside Harpys and did time for robbery and gang related crime. Sadly, as is the case with many single moms in these neighborhoods, she couldn't keep her boys from falling in with the gangs either. Her two eldest sons got involved with the Bloods, the Stone Piru crew, while her youngest son ended up as an "Ese," a Latino warrior in the Crips Southsider gang - two notorious African American gangs that are mortal enemies with members in the same Latino family - now that's stressful.

According to a recent front-page story in La Opinion (the leading southland Hispanic newspaper; May 21st 2009), the gang problem is reaching epidemic proportions. There are almost a million identified gang members in the United States, two hundred and thirty thousand of them operating in the state of California through more than six thousand nine hundred gangs. In some cities in California, up to eighty percent of the crime is gang related. Gang homicides are increasing at a terrifying pace in many cities like San Diego and Salinas, where there has been a 125% increase in killings since 2006.

Daniel McMullen, FBI agent in charge of gangs in L.A., explains that southern California is the epicenter of street gangs and in the city of LA there are nineteen gangs operating that have military training. Coming from South and Central America and Mexico, these militaristic gangs are run like an army, with similar hierarchies, and are blood curdlingly brutal. Some, in fact, were trained by us in the various wars we've had a hand in - El Salvador, Nicaragua... The amount of money at stake in controlling the U.S. drug trade is an overwhelmingly powerful lure for these young people who are generally poor, uneducated and whose good job prospects are slim to nil.

Females are the fastest growing new segment of the gang population, and many of them are underage (more than three of every ten new gang members are young women). The FBI reports that the women start out as girlfriends or wives of gang members but, as more of the males are arrested and jailed, the women have started to control the operations.

Gang recruiters are extremely active within the schools, both in public middle and high schools, as well as online. Connie Rice, Director of the Advancement Project, says there are some parts of the city so completely under gang control that she must receive clearance from gang generals before being able to enter their territory to offer aid. She is concerned that treating the gang problem simply as a matter of crime is not working. The problem, she says, is both social and cultural and we need to be looking at creating programs to help prevent kids from joining gangs in the first place.

Rocio Martinez became one of the fifteen youth counselors in the mediation group called "HEART" (Human Efforts Aimed at Relating Together) searching for a way to help her kids and others like them. The objective of the program, which is unique in the LAUSD, is to "encourage young people to assume responsibility and accountability for maintaining a safe school campus." HEART is there to broker the peace between rival gangs and keep violence from escalating or exploding. If a HEART counselor can keep a kid from being sent to Juvenile Hall, they have done their job. Once a young person falls into the prison system, the deck is stacked against them; and by all accounts Juvenile Hall is worse than jail. Rocio explains that in adult prison the major gangs police themselves, adhering to the strict code of the North/South divisions; there is rarely inter-gang fighting. In Juvenile Hall, however, it's a free for all, with every gang out for itself.

If a school decides that a kid is trouble or a known gangbanger or gang recruiter, they will be kicked out and passed off to another school until they end up at the end of the road (usually Santee High School in South Central). After that, their only choice is a "continuation school" like the one at Homeboy Industries (the largest gang prevention program in the country run by Father Greg Boyle). Rocio's three boys ended up there and she credits Homeboy for helping save her kids lives. Homeboy, whose motto is "Nothing stops a bullet like a job" trains ex-gang members, many fresh out of jail, a skill like printing or baking and tries to find them a job in the larger community while also helping these "troubled" kids earn their GEDs. But jobs and funding are increasingly hard to come by and Homeboy is being hit hard by the economic crisis.

Rocio invited me to come speak to the all girl "at risk" groups that she had been assigned by HEART. For these young ladies (all between 11 and 14 years old) this program was their last shot at redeeming themselves before the LAUSD would have to wash their hands of them and deliver them to the authorities. As I walked onto the campuses at Northridge and Carver Middle Schools the first thing that struck me was how young these kids were; I mean, they were definitely children. Yet the signs on the chain link fences that said "NO GUNS ON CAMPUS" clearly indicated an underlying reality that could not be argued.

These kids are living in a stone cold tough ass world. I looked out at the sea of mostly brown and completely beautiful faces staring back at me as I told them that they could be whoever and whatever they wanted, that they should work hard and pursue their dreams and they would find their way. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking "How can we, as a country say we care about our children when we give them less than nothing?" No art classes. No music. No field trips. No joy. No safety - six kids were shot leaving Carver Middle School and walking a few steps to the bus stop last year. Their teachers are being fired. The classes are being stuffed with more and more kids. They go to school all year, with no summer vacation, just on a rotating wheel of two months on, one month off...

For many of the young women I spoke to, their families had been in gangs for generations and their neighborhoods were the only place they knew. I was shocked to find out how many of these kids had never been out of East L.A. or South Central - too dangerous, Rosi explained to me, they would have to cross through too many rival gang turfs to make it to the beach or to Griffith Park. One boy, she told me, arrived at school bloodied and bruised every single day - having had to take several buses through enemy territory to get there. But he continued to show up - that's how much he wanted to be able to go to school.

One girl told us how she had to get up at two in the morning to do her homework because it was the only time her house was quiet enough for her to concentrate with all the gangs, guns and partying her parents were doing. But she was in school and her homework was done. And I found a similar fire in the bellies of most of these young ladies - they wanted to learn, they wanted to try new things and aspired to greatness, they just had absolutely no tools, no maps and little guidance.

Recently Rocio found out that the HEART program is being cut in half due to budget cuts. That means that for the entire LAUSD, almost four hundred public middle and high schools, there will be only eight counselors available to deal with the gangs and violence on campus. Now that the HEART program has been cut, who will be left for these young kids to talk to? Who will advocate for them? Give them advice? Who will offer even some modicum of protection?

So what can we, should we, must we do? First of all, pressure pressure pressure DC to put their money where the rhetoric is - public schools are failing because we are deliberately ruining them with massive cuts of funding and resources, ridiculous constant testing that amounts to minimal actual knowledge, tying our teachers hands behind their backs, letting parents off the hook, and completely ignoring the needs of the kids themselves. Secondly, getting involved - as citizens, as humans, as people whom supposedly care about the future of our communities, our race, and our planet. Volunteer to do something with the kids, or organize an outing or take them on a tour of a small business, or buy the school some books. We need to create and support programs that show these young people there are other possible avenues, environments, and options. And we have to do it now.

[All Photos by Benjamin Alfaro]

Comments

[ed conway]

Great article Kamala,
very important topic....
as a Board Member of the Northern Arizona Boys & Girls Clubs it is great to see an other person caring about our youth...
all the best
Ed

[TAMB]

Great article, Kamala, about a truly daunting problem. I agree with many of the comments of your readers who raise all the many facets of change that need to occur, from financing to parental accountability to many, many people willing to work as tirelessly Rocio Martinez. What an amazing lady.

In telling the stories of these young girls who are trying to negotiate through overwhelming obstacles, you do a great job of putting a face to this story and lifting it beyond a series of statistics. How amazing if you are able to make your series! Powerful work.

Tania

[JOHNNYELL]

Hi Kamala:

This is such an important issue and the HEART program and programs like it are crucial to the future of kids teetering on the edge like this. California is broke and the situation MUST be improved from Washington, DC. O'Bama's stimulus program should be lobbied to help a great cause like this. Even if the money isn't there in the original stimulus program that the House and Senate approved, if there is another stimulus (spending) program, the congressman in this district has got to be made aware to fight for this.

Do you know of any lobbyists who could help?

The future of these kids and their siblings and friends lies in the balance.

AND OH YES...I will call the local officials you have listed too.

Keep up the good work!!!

JohnnyEll

[Regen]

Kamala,
Very well written article about terrible but very real topic. Unfortunately, Dallas has many of the same issues as LA. Keep up the good work rallying the troops! When we all weigh in, perhaps funding channels will change.
Best,
Regen

[uriahcactus]

Terrific information. Way to go Kamala for getting this out there and taking action.

[Kamala Lopez - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you to everyone who has engaged in this conversation and those of you who have been moved to offer help; I now have some actions that we can take to try and save HEART.
I urge you to please do one or more of these things if you can:

1. Write an email in support of the program and urge the LAUSD to not only continue its funding but increase the number of counselors on call to help these kids.

2. Call the Office of the LAUSD Superintendent, the LAUSD Board of Directors and the Mayor's Office and impress upon them your concern about the increase of gang violence in our schools and the need for the HEART program to not only exist but to be more fully supported.

3. Find private funding sources that can contribute to HEART's budget as well as that of excellent, underfunded HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES in exchange for a full tax deduction (HEART and Homeboy both have Non-Profit status). In the case of HEART, we should ask for very clear guidelines in place (and in writing) for how these monies will be used -- for the counselors salaries and for the kids themselves.

Here are the email addresses and phone numbers:
LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT
RAMON C. CORTINES
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte
Board District 1
[e-mail]
213-241-6382

Mónica García
Board President,
Board District 2
[e-mail]
213-241-6180

[Kamala Lopez - Huffpost Blogger]

Tamar Galatzan
Board District 3
[e-mail]
213-241-6386
Fax: [phone]

Steve Zimmer
Board District 4
[e-mail]
213-241-6387
Fax: [phone]

Yolie Flores Aguilar
Board District 5
[e-mail]
213-241-6383
Fax: [phone]

Nury Martinez
Board District 6
[e-mail]
213-241-6388
Fax: [phone]

Dr. Richard Vladovic
Board District 7
[e-mail]
213-241-6385
Fax: [phone]

David Holmquist, Chief Operating Officer
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Earl Perkins, Assistant Superintendent School Operations
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Cheri Thomas, Coordinator School Operations
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Paola Valdivia
Scheduler
L.A. Mayor's Office
213 922 9747
[e-mail]

Jazmin Ortega
Press Office
L.A. Mayor's Office
213 978 0741
[e-mail]

Marshall Tuck
Director of Partnership for L.A. Schools
L.A. Mayor's Office
213 978 0753
[e-mail]

Lovette Brooks
Manager of Special Projects
L.A. Mayor's Office
213 922 9115
[e-mail]

In the meantime, one of you kind souls with expertise, Jeffrey Hicken, has offered to build HEART a free website which will help greatly in disseminating the program and its needs. Once that is on-line and operational I will post a link to it so please check back on occasion.

With much love and gratitude,
Kamala

[Kamala Lopez - Huffpost Blogger]

Also, check out this great little film from Homeboy for their virtual car wash campaign!
http://www.homeboy-industries.org/virtualcarwash.htm

Their goal is to reach one million people so let's help them do that!
xxKam

[David72]

Great article, Kamala. It's unfortunate that the odds seem stacked against these kids from the start. The mayor seems to think that we can "police" our way out of the problem by hiring more officers, while slashing programs citywide. We can't arrest our way out of this and we certainly can't keep throwing money into prevention tactics that aren't working. With supposed 'gang prevention' leaders being indicted for their roles as shot-callers in MS-13 and prevention programs that are actually associated with higher gang activity (there was a four-fold increase in gang activity documented at facilities in the city's 'Summer Night Lights' program) it doesn't send a good message in terms of deterrence. The statewide recidivism rate is deplorable and only serves to reinforce the need to provide effective and realistic alternatives to kids surrounded by all these negative influences.

[LearningisMAGIC]

Where to start?
The problem is extremely complex. I’ve been continuing the fight for twelve years and now with my company, www.Learning-is-MAGIC.com

Where to start?
You underscore the complexity of the problem. There isn’t one answer. It takes a lot of work, by many people, for a long time.

The root is bad parenting. Hispanics cross the border because they can't find work in their homeland. These parents create and exacerbate the problem. It’s unintentional, but they do.

Why?
Little or no education. The only parenting they know is from their parents, who learned from their parents, who learned from theirs, ad infinitum. Their parental skills are at least a century old. You can't teach a 21st century child with 19th century methods.

We address this in our Parenting is M.A.G.I.C program. There is a lot to do and not enough support from the districts, city, state, and the federal government. This is a question of money and will. It is getting even worse.

Where to start?
There are many aspects to this problem: school system, parents, teachers, politicians, geopolitical situation, state, national & world economy, immigration, racism, history, poverty, greed, etc. Many are not aware of the problem’s depth. Or if so, in some abstract way; to keep it at arm’s length.

The world is becoming more selfish. People want to ignore these problems, and not get involved.

Where to start?

Tonyo Melendez

[pastorep]

Kamala,

A terrific article about an horrific situation.

I agree, we all must pressure the proper authorities to spend more money on the public school programs you described in your article. However, all that does is put a band-aid on a broken arm. Until you set and let the arm heal, the arm will remain broken.

As you reported (but did not quote) Daniel McMullen saying, these gangs get their military training from outside this country. If that is so, then unless all these gang members have passports and fly (or drive) legally across the border, then they are all illegally in this country.

I am not an advocate of war, nor am I a register Conservative Republican, but what you describe in your article is an invasion of this country by foreign nationals. Yes, programs like the ones Ms. Martinez run may be the only hope for the majority of these children, but until the Federal Government recognizes these gangs as "a clear and present danger" to the citizens (and children) of United States, no amount of federal money is going to make a band-aid big enough to fix the problem.

We need to set the bone first, before it can be healed.

Paul

[PamelaKS]

Kamala -

Startling issues!  The fact that some school districts need their own police department is a sad statement

Clearly, our country has problems. When kids are the losers, we all end up losers.  Kids join gangs for any number of reasons though put very simply, it's because their lives are not working.  These kids are looking for a sense of self-respect, someone to love them, someone to believe that they are important.  As our economy continues to decline, our gangs will continue to grow.  As funding for education dwindles, social programs are cut, and people continue to lose jobs, the only thing growing is stress, fear and anxiety.  Those emotions lead people to do crazy things.

All of the answers are not in Washington DC.  All of the answers are not in any one place.  Yes, funding it critical.  It's past time that we put our money where our mouth is.  And as you note with Homeboy Industries, there are programs that work.  We don't need to reinvent the wheel.   Big Brothers, Big Sisters has been around for years.  It works.  It just takes some time from those of us who have the time and are willing to make a commitment to another person..

Our young people needs friends they can trust.  They need love, support, education and training.  They won't wait for the big people to make political decisions.  They'll do what they have to do to survive.  We can't afford to delay.

[radamsjr]

Kamala,

You've tapped into something deeper than current political ideologies. No matter what your perspective, we've all agreed for years that everyone deserves an opportuntiy to better themselves and not be enslaved by their community. It seems obvious blame can't be assigned to to anyone among the living when the problem is generations old.
Opponents to the current school programs argue that it is beyond the capability and responsibility of a budget broken school to change how a community functions. I would argue that if this is the only known line of access to reach these kids, let someone work through the schools to help these kids held hostage in their neighborhoods.
It shouldn't be the schools job to break gang control of communities. But so far, they've had more success than all the kings men and all the kings horses. Give them a chance to change things the only way we can. One life at a time.

Rick

[Randy Vasquez]

Great article Kamala. Wake up calls are good for everyone especially those of us in the entertainment industry who get lost in our self-centered world of trying to succeed. The photographs help to balance out the bleakness of the information. The girls are indeed beautiful and deserve a shot at the good life.

I'm inspired to act which is what i'm sure your intention was.

Thanks for taking the time to write this. I know it took a lot of time and effort.

randy

[UKLadyinglendale]

I read Kamala's article with great interest. It is very obvious she is a very talented writer, expresses herself very well and has the ability to make the reader feel her passion for the situation which affects our young Latino community. The article made me angry at the lack of governmental support for this situation and cry for the mothers of the children who are lost in the world of gangs. I have lived in Los Angeles since 1980, but I have read references to gangs in L.A. as far back as in the 1940's so I know we are dealing with third and fourtn generation gang members, which makes the task even more difficult to deal with. Now is not the time for the local government to make cuts in our education system.

Rocio Martinez is certainly a woman to be admired for her efforts. From my own experience, it is not easy raising children alone in Los Angeles and I did not have anywhere near the problems she had.

Kamala, it is a wonderful article.

[silvana15]

Dear Kamala:
It is a sad state of affairs when our childern have to live in fear, education it's not a priority and we are leaving them to the mercy of violence and crime.
I am very interested in helping in whichever way i can
I need to connect you with a school teacher from San diego her name is Dawn Miller , she mentor trouble kids and even helps them by paying for the community college if she can.
The Buddy system or what we call consejeras works really well.
Pick some girls from the community train them and have them form a support system for the other ones.
I am sure that there are funding for that. Gates foundation , California Endowment ( I know the CEO)are a couple of good ones.
Great job! I really commend you in getting involved in such a oressing issue.
Much love
Silvana