Gang Intervention Program

Prevention; Ages 10–17

Risk Factors

Individual

Antisocial/delinquent beliefs

Conduct disorders (authority conflict/rebellious/stubborn/disruptive/antisocial)

Early and persistent noncompliant behavior

Early onset of aggression/violence

Few social ties (involved in social activities, popularity)

General delinquency involvement

High alcohol/drug use

Lack of guilt and empathy

Low perceived likelihood of being caught

Makes excuses for delinquent behavior (neutralization)

Physical violence/aggression

Poor refusal skills

Victimization and exposure to violence

Violent victimization

Family

Poor parent-child relations or communication

School

Low academic aspirations

Low school attachment/bonding/motivation/commitment to school

Poorly organized and functioning schools/inadequate school climate/negative labeling by teachers

Community

Availability and use of drugs in the neighborhood

Feeling unsafe in the neighborhood

Low neighborhood attachment

Neighborhood youth in trouble

Peer

Association with antisocial/aggressive/delinquent peers; high peer delinquency

Association with gang-involved peers/relatives

Peer alcohol/drug use

Peer rejection

Description

Youth Development, Inc., operates the Gang Intervention Program to work specifically with individual gang members within the Albuquerque neighborhoods. The mission of the program is to work together with youth and families to stop the violence and keep the communities safe. The Gang Intervention Program uses innovative approaches to help youth learn and experience positive alternatives that may lead them to divert their negative energies into positive ones within their communities. Services provided include case management, individual/family counseling with a licensed therapist, recreational activities, and participation in community events. The eight-week leadership program is a specialized program designed to bring together youth from the different barrios to experience hands-on activities, giving back to their communities, building positive relationships within their peer group, communication skills, leadership, and team building. While participating in the gang program, youth learn to come together in a nonthreatening, cooperative atmosphere in all the program sites.

Endorsements

National Gang Center: Promising program structure

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development: Promising program

Contact

Mr. Ruben Leyva
Program Director
Gang Intervention Program
Youth Development Institute
1223 Fourth Street, NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Phone: (505) 343-1918
E-mail: pit@ydinm.org

References

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. (1994). A Matter of Time: Risk and Opportunity in the Nonschool Hours. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York.