Moore, J.W. (1978). Homeboys: Gangs, drugs & prison in the barrios of Los Angeles. Temple University Press.

OVERVIEW

The black gangs of Los Angeles made news in the late 1980s as they spread across the country and were "celebrated" in the movie, "Colors." Hispanic gang members are perhaps older and more numerous in the Los Angeles area. A remarkable collaboration among a sociologist, ex-convicts, and community book has produced this work.

Three critical slang terms are important for a consideration of this topic: pinto (convict, ex-convict, one who has served in la pinta or penitentiary), barrio (either neighborhood or gang), and tecato (addict).

This study is significant because it is contextual and holistic. It views gangs in terms of their context in the neighborhood and larger social systems and considers gangs in terms of many related issues:

• Consideration of Chicano barrios or neighborhood.
• Persistence and influence of barrios (gangs) themselves.
• Growth of heroin and barbiturate use in Chicano neighborhoods.
• Norms of barrios that follow men into prison.
• Persistence of optimism within Chicano neighborhoods.

The authors work hard to dispose of myths of earlier, misleading studies. They examine carefully themes of the 1970s such as "internal colonialism," "blaming the victim," and "programming for failure." The significance of gangs as they carry into prison life is especially unique and important to this study. Three barrio gangs are examined: El Hoyo Maravilla, The White Fence Gang, and a more loosely organized rural-suburban gang from the zoot suit or pachucho era.

This book moves toward policy for the barrios arguing "that the income-generating opportunity structure...must be drastically modified to...de-emphasize the illegal and welfare economic structures (and to emphasize the square or legal means of income)." (p. 177)

IMPLICATIONS

1. The first chapter of this book includes the rationale for the cooperative approach used here. It should be remembered by all cross-cultural researchers.
2. Society’s immediate response to gangs is through law enforcement. If prosecution is spotty and prisons are schools and springboards for further gang activity, the limits of this response are evident.
3. Relationships with those within the gang is necessary not only for research but for programs and youth work. Relocation, involvement, shared experience, and dialogue are necessary parts of any significant response to gangs. There is still a place for the street worker—if the limitations of such involvement are recognized.

 

Me and My House Ministries, Inc. - Atlanta, GA.

 

A Christian ministry that reaches out to at-risk children and youth with the hope of Christ where they live, through a holistic approach that involves their families

BACKGROUND

The ministry began with one woman in October of 1997 who had a desire to reach out to the children of her apartment community.  The demographics of this community are predominantly low-income, African American, single parent homes.  A Bible study began on Friday nights in this woman’s apartment.  As a recreation time was started before the Bible study began it quickly grew to well over thirty youth and children. 

Attendance continued to grow and the next step was to bring the children to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights to get them involved in a Christian community.  Also started at this time were outings to lakes, hiking, Christian concerts, etc. and opportunities for the youth and children to do community service projects.  A new place to meet was also needed and the ministry partnered with the management of the apartment community allowing the ministry to use their office as a meeting place.

These children and youths had an obvious need for structured, positive, and fun activities.  It also provided many of them with love, care, encouragement and someone simply telling them they believed in them.  Prior to this, many of the kids and youth would just ‘hang out’ until all hours and there were many opportunities for them to become involved in drugs, violence, crime, sex, etc.  Worst of all was how many of them had self-esteem, loneliness and anger issues.

It was realized that even the children and youth came to all the activities and Bible studies that was only 5% of their time throughout the week. The rest of the time they may be impacted by an unhealthy and dangerous community and home environment. The next step then was to meet their families and reach out to their parents. In the summer of 1999, the ministry was officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization. 

 

GOALS

The main goal is to reach the youth/children and their families in a specific community.  The ministry seeks to bring families together, and to strengthen their love for one another and Jesus Christ.  The ministry strategically partners with local churches and apartment communities to establish an on-site Christian presence where these people live; and to love people by meeting their needs, sharing the hope of Christ, discipling and bringing them into fellowship.

 

 

The ministry seeks to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those they serve, as well as to be a catalyst for positive and Godly change in the community.

 

 

ACTIVITIES

 

Physical needs are met by ensuring they have enough food, clothing and can pay their rent.  Many local restaurants and food stores (even Chik-Fil-A as a corporation) have come into partnership with Me and My House and provide food that they can pass along to the families who are in need.  Others have donated clothing which, for example, enabled Me and My House to meet the needs of those who had lost almost everything in a fire at the apartment complex.  The ministry also maintains a benevolence fund which is used in crisis to ensure that none of these families end up on the streets.  Financial Benevolence is usually given only when financial planning/counseling is also agreed upon.

Emotional needs are met primarily through friendships.  The relationships that are established by the ministry workers with those in the community are deep and powerful.  They are truly friends because they provide a listening ear, pray with the people, and serve without causing any type of dependence.  For example, Atlanta is a very difficult city to get around without a car.  Many times a ministry staff may offer someone a ride to a job interview or a doctor’s appointment. The ministry also provides access to professional counseling resources if needed.

Spiritual needs are met through organized Bible studies, providing a firm foundation in God’s Word, discipling, helping them to get into a local church, and prayer.

 

The specific programs for Kids and Youth are:

§          Recreation activities

§          Bible Study classes (broken down into appropriate age/gender groups)

§          Youth led praise and worship

§          Discipleship groups

§          Community Service Projects

§          Social Outings

§          Church transportation

§          Mentoring

 

The specific programs for Adults and Families are:

§          Discipleship groups

§          Bible study classes

§          Resume writing

§          Food distribution

§          Financial planning

§          Church transportation

§          Benevolence

§          Weekly visitations of families

§          After church luncheons

§          Holiday celebrations

 

The children and youth are the ministry’s primary way of getting to know the families, and developing relationships with the families is critical to success.  The kids or youth will hear about the Friday night Bible study or other social activities and show up.  After that contact is made, a member of the ministry staff will go and visit them in their homes.  At least one night a week is set aside for going to visit families in order to develop deeper friendships.  This also shows the kids and youth that those in the ministry have a deep concern for them and desire to be a part of their lives. 

 

 

The needs of the community are also being met as the ministry provides positive, alternative activities and things for the children and youth to do.  The management of the apartment community has been thrilled about the impact on the community and working with them (hearing their needs and using their resources) has also been a critical part of the success of Me and My House.

 

 

In summary by entering into a disadvantaged community and reaching out to the children and youth by offering activities and love, their families can also be reached with the love of Christ, and the community can begin to be transformed by the gospel.

 

OPERATIONS

To start this program very little is needed: a place to meet in the targeted community, time to build relationships, and two or three people equipped to lead recreational activities, worship and a Bible study for youth and children…all filled with a lot of love.  One thing that is very important is setting up expectations for behavior, establishing very clear and consistent discipline for when the rules are crossed.  Since this is the first time many have been in a disciplined environment, it is suggested that the rules be simple, understandable, and grace extended through a build up of the severity of the discipline over the number of times a rule is broken.

 

As the program grows, there will be a need for more volunteers/teachers, vehicles to transport people to churches, recreational equipment, Bible study curriculum, resources to provide benevolence assistance, and ways to refer people for counseling and provide financial/career planning.  

There are two things which are absolutely vital to the success of a ministry like this.  The first is a commitment to making real relationships/friendships with those in the community you go out to serve.  The second is at least one local church in the community partnering with you, ready to love and serve those who are being brought into the community of faith.

 

OPINIONS

If you walk into a Me and My House activities, one of the first things that strikes you is the amount of laughter and hugs.  The transformation of many of these kids is amazing.  Some who started out incredibly angry and withdrawn are now outgoing and happy.  Others have been helped tremendously in a time of crisis that could have had lifetime devastating consequences had the ministry not been there.  For example, one of the teenage girls became pregnant and was thrown out on the streets by her family.  She turned to the ministry who found her a crisis pregnancy home to live in and continued to provide counsel and love as she got her life back together and supported her to become a good parent.

“If Me and My House were not working with these students and in their community I would not like to think where these students would be.  I’d see them without hope and with out direction.” - Michael Carney – High School Pastor, First Baptist Church of Atlanta 

“If Me and My House did not come into my life… I would not have been able to take care of my bills.  I would be homeless.” -  Hawa Yansaneh, mother of four children ages 18, 10, 9 and 7

 

 

“The impact that I’ve seen Me and My House have on the community of NorthChase has been absolutely wonderful.  On Friday evenings the kids are SO excited because there is Bible study at the NorthChase office” - Yolanda Turman, Assistant manager of NorthChase Apartments 

 

“I know that I always have someone to turn to when I have a problem, and when I need a friend I will always have one” – Unique, 13 years old

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What is your personal interest in this kind of program?

2. How do you assess the possibility of short-term success, long-term sustainability, or possible failure of this program?

3. Do you think a program like this would succeed in your area or situation?  Why or why not?

4. How would you use the ideas here to build a program in your situation?

IMPLICATIONS

 

There are many children, youth and their families who desperately need Christ and the Church but for many different reasons are not in a relationship with either.  Their communities are in dire need of the transforming power of the Gospel.  Instead of waiting for them to ‘happen’ upon the church’s doorstep, Me and My House goes out to them and establishes a strong, consistent Christian presence in the heart of their community.  By going out to where these people are, not only can they be helped to enter into a relationship with Christ and their local church, but the presence of fun, moral, entertaining activities and Christian love helps to transform their communities.  This in turn provides the youth and children of these areas a chance to grow up in a more stable, encouraging, safe, and hopeful environment.

Elizabeth B. Beinhocker cCYS

Arnold, J.C. (2000). How Kids are Drugged into Submission. S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies.

How kids are drugged into submission.

Ask anyone to name the chief dangers facing children today, and they’re likely to tick off a predictable list—homelessness, malnutrition, poor education, and inadequate healthcare. They’re not wrong. But the longer I work with children, the more concerned I am about another quiet wave that carries just as a great a menace: the mindset of avoidance: the persistent habit of turning our backs on the hardest questions, and falling for the answers that soothe us back to sleep. The "quick fix" is rarely a healthy approach to child rearing.

From parenting journals to popular books, the wisdom is the same: children may be cute, but raising them is a thankless chore. Children of all ages and means are being squelched on the playground and in class, not because they’re unmanageable or unruly, but simply because they’re behaving like children should. Diagnosed with "problems" that used to be recognized as normal childhood traits—impulsiveness and exuberance, spontaneity and daring—millions of children are being diagnosed as hyperactive and drugged into submission. I’m referring, of course, to the widespread use of Ritalin and other related stimulants, and to the public’s fascination with medicine as the ultimate solution.

Ritalin is legitimate for specific conditions. But given the threefold increase in its use in the last decade, one has to wonder if it isn’t being misused as an easy cure-all for problems such as ADHD (Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder) and to rein in lively children who may not even have the disorder. After all, much of what is designated as ADHD is nothing more than a defense against overstructuring—a natural reflex that used to be called letting off steam—or alternately, a symptom of various unmet emotional needs. Jeff, an old friend, gives a poignant example:

‘Jerome, an eight-year-old from Seattle, came and stayed with us last summer for a break from the city. When he arrived he was a mess, though he was on Ritalin. After two or three days, however, we weaned him off his dose, because with all the room to play he was no longer bouncing off the walls, but beginning to take himself in hand. (At home in his apartment building there was nothing for him to do but watch TV.) I could definitely see the change.’

‘When this little guy first arrived he could barely keep his attention on anything for more than a minute, he was so keyed up and distracted. I laid down some ground rules and gave him some time. I took him out with a bike, since he was unsure of how to ride...By the end of his stay he was so settled and happy that at one point he even asked me if he could call me Dad. I just about lost it. This child didn’t need Ritalin: all he needed was fresh air—and love.’

Put Jerome back in the projects, and he will probably revert. He’ll be put back on Ritalin, and his "symptoms" will be re-suppressed. Whether he’ll ever get the attention he really needs, either at home or at school, is quite another question. Fortunately, it’s one that more people are asking, like Peter Breggin, a pediatrician and author:

 

‘People call drugs like Ritalin a godsend for emotional and behavioral problems...But I think the way they’re overused is absolutely horrifying. When I was asked by the National Institutes of Health to be a scientific discussant on the effects of these drugs at a conference they held, I reviewed the important literature, and I found that when animals are given them, they stop playing; they stop being curious; they stop socializing; they stop trying to escape. Ritalin makes good caged animals...We’re making good caged kids. It’s all very well to talk about it taking a whole village to raise a child, but in practice, we’re acting as if we think it only takes a pill.’

Given the dismal state of the culture described above, parenting in the 21st century is clearly going to involve a lot of hard work. But why should that frighten us? As long as we run from the responsibilities that will always be there, we will not only squander the most formative moments of bringing up children, but rob ourselves as well of its most meaningful joys.

Much of the information in this discussion is extracted from (Arnold, J.C.). Endangered: Your Child in a Hostile World. For more information, search www.plough.com.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What does the writer mean by "avoidance" in parenting and educating children? Do you experience examples of this?
2. Why is the "quick fix" with regard to children rarely the best one?
3. Why is the writer so critical of the use of drugs on today’s children? Do you agree or disagree?
4. What are alternative ways of dealing with "overactive" children?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Where pressure is exerted by school or medical authorities to put children on drugs, parents and educators should raise questions and—where appropriate—demand a hearing and freedom of choice.
2. Where school systems are regimenting children, abolishing recess, canceling creative activities in favor of tests and preparation for tests, convinced parents and educators need to represent all children’s needs of varied activity and especially on behalf of those who are now prescribed drugs.

OVERVIEW

A great deal is being said about high-risk youth. Only a few studies have come from a specifically faith-based perspective.

DESIGN

Boys Town conducted a 2 1/2 year study (1988-1990) surveying more than 822 high-risk youth who had not been in any of their previous religious-education programs. The ethnic demographics of study participants follows: 55% Caucasian, 45% African-American, 3% Native American, and 3% Hispanic (the final two groups comprise an insufficient number for a scientific sample). The questions were designed to gather data about self-esteem, interests, worries, moral values, one’s relationship with God, religious beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

"At-risk youth" are defined as young people about whom two or more of the following are true:

• Dropped out of school.
• Live in dysfunctional families.
• Are involved in substance abuse.
• Are sexually active.
• Lack positive relationships with significant adults.
• Break the law.

FINDINGS

Self-Esteem. The level of self-esteem is very high among peers of special youth culture and when a survival coping mechanism highly developed. Also, African-American youth reported higher self-esteem than did Caucasian youth, and girls reported lower self-esteem than boys.

Experience with God. Participants related to God mostly during troubled times. They also shared time with God when alone and quiet, in church, or with family. Girls more interested in God than boys. Only 10% reported no experience with God.

Image of God. Eighty percent felt loved unconditionally; still, few felt that their religious faith helped them in times of trouble.

Faith. Faith is privatized and relational having little to do with behavior, interpersonal relations, or world at large. Many teens who professed faith in God are not morally opposed to X-rated materials or pre-marital intercourse.

Religious influence. Religion positively influences suicidal thoughts and substance abuse. Depression is more likely among youth with low self-esteem who feel that no one understands them, have little sense that God loves them, feel that their lives have no purpose, worry about feeling sad all the time, and are lonely.

 

IMPLICATIONS

1. With budget cuts in economically strained times, churches and religious organizations are needed to help such young people.
2. Obviously, we should do everything possible to prevent young people from falling into high risk. The most effective prevention is systemic: strengthening the family and other services that socialize our young. Giving individual attention to young people is key to preventing high risk behavior.
3. Churches and religious organizations must develop skills and resources necessary to serve at-risk youth.

Dean Borgman cCYS