Keeping Our Kids Safe
by Alisa N. Smith
Co-organizer, Youth and Education Committee
Glassell Park Neighborhood Council

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Communication, Safety and Choices
A Community-Policing Approach
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I appreciate this opportunity to convey to you the thoughts and opinions of the youth that I have come in contact with, as well as my personal observations gleaned from my position as co-organizer of the Youth and Education Committee of Glassell Park Neighborhood Council.

I intend to be as clear as I can when conveying the youths' concerns to you. Since we received our certification in January, we have held monthly meetings focusing on a variety of topics. These have included some actions that have resulted in co-operative ways of resolving issues that are important to our youth. Our meetings are Glassell Park focused but not exclusive. At the very first meeting we asked the youth to write down what their concerns were, about their community.

Their number one concern is SAFETY!

So it seems that ironically, the youth fear for their own safety, just as we adults fear the youth that commit the majority of crimes in our city. One way we are trying to address this issue is by establishing a neighborhood watch program for the youth.

I have heard it expressed (and seen how easily it can happen) that they get harassed on the way home from school. They join up with gangs because they have no other way to feel safe in their own neighborhood. Stories of kids having their clothes ripped off of them or beaten up are not uncommon. Our co-organizer is a middle school educator and we both agree that those are the crucial years. Where it is easy for a pivotal decision to be made that sends the youth down a path of negativity and violence as a way of dealing with the conflicts of life.

Our group has created a project we call "KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!" and we are basing it on the "Safe Passages" program. The youth are designing a flyer that kids can hand out to residents and businesses that they pass-by as they walk home from school. The concept is to ask people who are home at those times, to come out and sweep the sidewalk, take out the trash, or engage in some activity outside, so that the kids won't be walking home alone on the streets!

I have also heard "at risk" young people say that they "know no other way" (other than to join a gang). With family members, neighbors and their lives constantly immersed in a world of gangs, where do we suppose they learn they have a choice???

Luckily there are some very worthy programs available, with people who have the courage and knowledge to help our youth. We need them and they need our support!

Two of these are the LA Bridges and the Aztec Fire Crew programs.

The LA Bridges Program is a city-wide strategy intended to reduce delinquent gang activity among youth. This program represents a comprehensive effort to develop grassroots structures dedicated to strengthening neighborhoods, families and youth by providing activities that effectively protect communities and provide real opportunities for people.

The Aztec Fire Crew, is an on-call firefighting unit consisting of young adults recruited from throughout Los Angeles. The organization also interacts with gang affiliated youths and works to engage them in activities that will take them away from the gang culture.

If you know of others in your part of the City, please write me about them, so I can share the information with other LA Community Policing readers.

I look forward to writing more about these issues, and others, in this column. And I invite you to email me with your comments, ideas, and suggestions for future topics in the Youth Section, here at LA Community Policing.