ARYBA TX-NM, Operation No Gangs


 CHAPARRAL, NM SAYS "NO" TO GANGS

 
Photos by Rob Gallardo, All rights reserved.


Chaparral gangs a concern: Parents, teachers urged to look for signs
Alamogordo Daily News By Laura London, Staff Writer
Alamogordo Daily News  8/28/2007

The Chaparral Multi-Purpose Center was packed Monday night with parents, teens and pre-teens for Rob Gallardo's
presentation on signs to look for to determine if a child could be involved in a Hispanic youth gang.

Gallardo, who holds degrees in sociology and law from Stanford University, is the director of Aryba Texas-New
Mexico Operation No Gangs, an organization he started in 2000 to educate people about gangs through
intervention and prevention seminars such as the one Monday night.

Gallardo opened the seminar by saying many people don't understand why the focus is on Hispanic gangs. He
explained most gangs in west Texas and southern New Mexico have mainly Hispanic membership.

"It would be ludicrous to talk about black gangs in Chaparral," Gallardo said.

He then introduced three former gang members Richard, 17, who has been involved with three different gangs
since age 12 or 13; Adrian, 15; and Jonathan, 14, who was removed from a gang three months ago but joined
another a week later.

"The draw is so enticing," Gallardo said of young men compelled to return again and again to gang life.
Gallardo said it is common in El Paso for youth to go "hood-hopping." "They try different gangs until they find one that's 'right' for them," he said.

Gallardo said the three young men with him at the seminar face danger every day for trying to leave the gangs.
Aside from the intimidation factor, gang members also become reluctant to leave the lifestyle the longer they're
involved.

"Up to 14 or 15 years old, we're quite successful removing them from gangs," Gallardo said. "By 16, it's nearly
impossible."

Gallardo noted when he was growing up, the average age for gang members was 17. In southern New Mexico and
west Texas today, he said the median age of gang members is 12.

Throughout the presentation, Gallardo repeatedly reminded the audience that the best first line of defense against
losing a child to a gang is to practice good parenting at home.

"Many parents are very lax when it comes to curfew, lax when it comes to rules," Gallardo said. "When I go to a
home and see a child with no homework, a child with no bedtime up all night playing video games, I know who's in
charge at that house." Gallardo said parents are frequently unwilling to take responsibility for children's behavior and for monitoring them at all times.

Gallardo said parents should be more aware of the tone they set in the home. When a negative tone prevails,
children are sensitive to it and do not want to be at home.

"Even if they're big and look like adults, they're still children," he said, adding parents should be more sensitive to
children's feelings and not scare them, so they will feel comfortable at home.

Gallardo often receives inquiries from concerned parents over the Internet, and he has a questionnaire he e-mails
them to collect data. "I often find out the child has been wearing gang clothing for four years," he said.

Gallardo discussed some signs of possible gang involvement that parents should be aware of:
-  The child develops a sudden interest in permanent markers and highlighters, perhaps even carrying smaller ones
all the time. Gallardo explained they are often used in graffiti, but also to get high by sniffing inhalents.
-  Sex. "One of our four boys just found out his girlfriend's 11 weeks pregnant," Gallardo said. "She's 15, he's 15."
He said a good barometer to determine the closeness of a parent-child relationship is how comfortable the child
feels talking with parents about sex.
-  The child develops an interest in aluminum foil. Foil paper is used to cook meth, Gallardo said, and New Mexico
is known as a "methamphetamine powerhouse."
-  Lollipops can be coated with drugs and used as a delivery device.
-  If the child starts keeping a leatherman tool, knife or other tools, parents should be alert those could be used for
breaking into cars.

"It's important for people to realize, children aren't mind readers," Gallardo said. "They need to be told they're
loved."

He said girls need security, and boys need respect from their parents. He emphasized again that parents need to
make their home as comfortable as possible, talk to teachers and set expectations.

"If a boy doesn't get respect at home, he'll look to these gangs as a way to get it," Gallardo said.

Gallardo formerly worked in a California juvenile hall as a life skills instructor, meaning he coached troubled youth
in keeping a job and staying off drugs. He became more interested in gangs when Romero, a 14-year-old gang
member, came into his life in 1998. Gallardo adopted him in 2000 and brought him to El Paso. "I wanted him to have a different lifestyle in El Paso," Gallardo said.

KVIA Channel 7 El Paso Video

08.28.07 Community Rallies to protect its youth from gangs   KVIA News piece 8/28/07

CHAPARRAL, N.M. - A community gathers to try to keep their kids safe from gangs.

Over a hundred people attended the "Operation: No Gangs" seminar in Chaparral, New Mexico on Monday night. Both parents and children were given tips on what to look for in gang behavior, and were even given a glimpse into what gang life is really like from former gang members.

"Operation: No Gangs" Director Rob Gallardo is a Stanford graduate who grew up in the El Paso area and says we must create a sense of urgency and vigilance from parents. Community members say Monday night's meeting is definitely a step in the right direction.

"They want to learn and they want to be sure their kids are on the right track. If they don't know what to look for, then how can they tell if their kids are going in the wrong direction?" says Suzanne Michaels, a concerned Chaparral resident.

"I just suggest 'no' 'cause I've lived it , I've been in a gang now for like 4 years. I've lived it, I know how it is, and you don t want to disappoint your parents, those who love you," says Adrian Arreola, a former gang member, about his own personal experience.

If viewers would like to contact "Operation: No Gangs" they can be reached at 505/346-0679.


Expert Teaching Parents Signs Of Trouble
09/24/07 KDBC NEWS - El Paso
story by Alexis Vance KDBC 4 News  original story at http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?s=7123281

It happens everyday, children confronted at school asked to take drugs or join a gang. The problem is, the red flags of today's generation are more difficult to spot. That's why the Chaparral School District flew in an expert to help.

Stanford Graduate and Director of Operation No Gangs Rob Gallardo is working on minimizing the generation gap. Showing parents what household products are used to make drugs and talking about the newest trend, mixing codeine in pop cans. A combination where kids hallucinate and have enough energy to last thorough out the night.

Gallardo says this isn't happening on the nights or weekends, but actually when most parents least expect, "the times things will likely happen are 2:45pm to 5pm, statistics show negative activity typically occurs at those hours."

Gallardo says an easy way to keep tabs on your kids is to eat dinner together, know their friends, and always be open to talk.


The adage is true: "It takes a village."












Learning from experience:

(from Los Angeles Daily News, 9/29/04 regarding ignoring the gang gang growth warning signs)
"... the number of gangsters has grown nearly 10 times faster than the region's population, while the resources used to battle them have grown only modestly, or in some cases even declined.

And many communities from the high desert in San Bernardino County to the coastal plain of Ventura County failed to respond by hiring more police or creating intervention programs as the tentacles of gangs spread throughout Southern California.

Fontana police Chief Larry Clark said his city and others experiencing high growth naively ignored the warning signs and allowed gangs to take hold so they now face problems similar to those in poor inner-city areas.

'If you're real honest, the public put its head in the sand, and said, we don't have a gang problem. By the time they realized you have to do something, it was a major issue and we were behind the curve. That has a lot to do with it.' "

 

Operation
No
Gangs

Prevention
Education
Jail Diversion
Advocacy

(505) 346-0679

Anthony, NM
El Paso, Texas
Cd. Juarez, Chih

  2007

Interested in a presentation to your business, church, civic group or classroom? List of  Gang/Drug Awareness Presentation topics








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