While the various social risk factors explained in this blog undoubtedly influence the youth in the inner city towards a life of criminal activity and strife, there are several people and organizations that are attempting to break the cycle that has plagued our communities for decades. The lack of education has slowly crippled the young people searching for an outlet to the harsh realities that these young people see everyday. The absence of a father figure in the home allows for the misguided young person to then search for that strength and lost sense of structure outside of the house, typically found in gangs and their leadership. These street gangs allow these inner city kids to fantasize about a life with not so many opportunities, but various risks that can end lives just as easy.
In order to lessen the influence of such risk factors, schools such as Semillas Sociedad Civil, and programs such as the Green Dot educational program and Homeboy Industries have provided alternatives to a grueling lifestyle that claims the many lives of young people of color in the inner city. The Green Dot initiative was established with the goal of changing the landscape of public education in Los Angeles through increased levels of academic intensity as well as bridging the gap between parents and the school to better inform parents on the importance of being involved. Green Dot has established 17 charter school throughout the most needing parts of the city with the belief that having small high performing schools will give the students the individual attention they deserve, thus fostering creativity while preparing these young inner city residents for college and the life that follows. It has shown because in comparison to other California schools, the statistics (right) speak for themselves.
http://www.greendot.org/
Schools like Semillas Community Schools, have been recognized for teaching its students beyond the minimal standard of education, striving to reach the rigor of international educational levels. Their curriculum focuses on integrating intellectual as well as social knowledge to create a less one dimensional type of traditional student by receiving instruction in four languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Nahuatl (the indigenous language of Mexico). With more specialized schools such as these, the inner city students become more involved because there is more engagement through what they teach as well as the people who are teaching them, creating a closer relationship between the school and the community. This allows for more parental engagement and increased stimulation in accordance to the innovative academic protocol.
Although there is a prevalent gang problem that started in the inner cities of this country, there have been people who have taken personal commitments to try and alleviate the problem through programs such as Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries was originally “Jobs For A Future”, a program created in 1988 by Father Gregory Boyle during his time as a pastor in Boyle Heights. It began as a jobs program offering alternatives to gang violence in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city. This program offered alternatives that many people in the inner city who were affected by gangs by providing such services as counseling, job placement assistance, tattoo removal and coaching in interview skills, with the goal of exposing people to positive alternatives giving hope for new beginnings. Homeboy Industries has impacted the Los Angeles gang problem, with young people from over half of the region’s 1,100 known gangs seeking a way out. Once they become part of the community, their gang ties are no longer relevant and even mortal enemies become lifelong friends through the mission that promotes peace and progression.
With these programs in place along with several new programs being established every day, the young people of the inner city now have things in place to provide useful information, programs, and perspective. What was once a place of great disparity and social disconnect, has the tools in place to transform the inner city and its youth into intelligent, articulate and uniquely matured individuals. Although there are still many social factors that affect our youth, we are now that much closer to preparing for and alleviating the problem which will take time, but at least there are glimpses of hope being seen by the youth and those who do not understand the ghetto dynamic.
