The Folk Alliance

The Folk Alliance is made up of Gangster Disciples. They "represent" to the right, which means that their tattoos, hats, earring, pant legs, and eyebrows are scrolled, tilted, pierce, pulled-up, and shaved on the right side of their bodies. The Folk’s color is blue, so members wear sports jerseys belonging to Duke, Kansas City Royals, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Nike. Their number is six, so their symbol is the six point Star of David (see figure 1.2). According to the Kent County Manual (1996), the Folk alliance adopted this symbol after their founder David Barksdale was killed by a rival gang member (p. 2). Another symbol that is familiar to the Folk is an upward pitchfork which means money, mack (sex), and murder (see figure 1.1). They also have a greeting—"all is one".

The Kent County manual lists twenty known Folk Alliance gangs in Grand Rapids. (See chart on page 4 for setup of gangs.) Five of the twenty are Latino gangs: the Manic Latin Disciples (M.L.D.), the Insane Dragons (I.D.), the Mexican Mob/Mafia (MxM), the Spanish Cobras (Insane Spanish Cobras), and Sur Trece [south 13]. These gangs have their own signs and colors in addition to the standard Folk Alliance signs and colors. According to the community members and the criminal justice officials that were interviewed, the more commonly noticed Latino gangs in the Burton Heights and Roosevelt Park areas are the Manic Latin Disciples, the Insane Dragons, and the Mexican Mob.

Even less is known about the Insane Dragons. Their presence, however, is known to residents in the Buchanan Avenue and Quigley Street area and along Alpine Avenue and Walker Avenue area. Since they are part of the Folk Alliance, one of their colors is blue; however, the types of jerseys they wear and their additional colors are unknown. According to Berkhof, the Insane Dragons enjoy "tagging" their territory with the spade or deuce, a symbol of unity (refer to figure 1.5). Berkhof says that "this symbol means, ‘If someone messes with one member, they mess with all of them,’ which is true for most gangs."

Not a lot of information has been gathered about the Spanish Cobras and Sur Trece, except that they are present in the Burton Heights area and that the Spanish Cobras are known to wear the black and green of the Boston Celtics and the green of the Oakland A’s, and the initial "C" of the Chicago Cubs. According to Officer Salinas, Julie Niemchick and Mabel Carrillo Crime Prevention Organizers of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, there are not many members of Sur Trece in Grand Rapids because of an incident that occurred in the Summer of 1997 which caused a lot of the Sur Trece members, who were illegal aliens, to be deported. Further information on the specifics of that incident are unknown to me.

The People Alliance

The People Alliance, which is made up of Vice Lords, "represent" to the left, which means that their tattoos, hats, earring, pant legs, and eyebrows are scrolled, tilted, pierce, pulled-up, and shaved on the left side of their bodies. Their number is five and a five-point star is used (refer to figure 1.7). Clothing that has a five-point star on it are Converse All Stars, the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Stars, the Houston Astros, and Starter brand clothing. Their color is red so they can be found wearing Miami Hurricane jerseys. (The color for the Miami Hurricanes is orange, so it is unknown why this is the commonly worn jersey of People Alliance members.) Grand Rapids is home to nine gangs belonging to the People Alliance. Out of the nine, only one is a Latino gang—the Latin Kings.

The Latin Kings started in Chicago and is one of the oldest and largest Latino gangs from Chicago. Due to the size and longevity of their existence, the Latin Kings are a well-organized and structured group. According to the Kent County manual (1996), at one point, the Illinois prison system was home to some 15,000 Latin Kings. However, the size of the Latin Kings can be due to the fact that their membership does not consist solely of Latinos. The Latin Kings not only use a traditional five-point star to represent their group, they also use "The Five Point Crown," and "The Master" (see figures 1.8 and 1.9 ). The Latin Kings control the area on Grandville Avenue S.W. between Hall Street and Franklin Avenue and Queen Avenue and Colfax Street.

The complexity of gangs is not the only reason why communities have difficulties combating gangs. Other problems such as lack of information and the lack of communication contribute to difficulties in combating gangs. The information collected through interviews for this paper revealed many problems. Many community leaders and police officers seemed to be unaware of existing community organizations. A system of better communication needs to be devised amongst these organizations in order to aid them in helping one another. Knowledge, by both community leaders and police officials, of community programs is important in order for a network of communication to be built, and for information to be shared. If a youth is in trouble, how can a community leader or a police officer help if they are unaware of programs that exist?

Not only were community organizations unaware of other community organizations, they also lacked adequate information in regards to gangs. For example, Berkhof was the only person interviewed who mentioned the Latino gang, Tres Manos Gang (TMG). Tres Manos Gang was also mentioned briefly in the Kent County manual; however, no further information other than the name of the gang was provided. Yet, TMG appears to be a prominent gang in the Burton Heights District because many buildings are tagged with their name (refer to figures 1.10 and 1.11). Gang information appears to be scarce and scattered. Even though community leaders and the G.R.P.D. do not appear to be communicating with one another, this is not the only problem with gathering gang information. The truth of the matter is that gangs are very secretive, so it is difficult to gather information from gang members. Also, gangs change signs, clothing and hang-outs too often for the community or police officials to keep up with. So community leaders and law enforcement officials ar forced to gather information in bits and pieces because the methods of gathering information are not reliable. It would seem that community members would have better luck compiling information if they worked together.

When gang information was gathered from several different organizations, the information acquired was incomplete when it was viewed separately. Once the information was put together, a better picture was drawn. Organizations need to combine the information they gather about gangs by building a communication network between themselves. By compiling different information, community leaders can better inform residents about the gangs within their communities. When community members are better informed about gangs, they will be armed with the information to recognize the problem and aid in resolving the situation. David Lilly, a Detective at the Grand Rapids Police Department, says that one of the biggest problems communities have in combating gangs is that "the community at large is clueless" about the existence of gangs. Lilly explained that because the community is naïve to the situation, not much could be accomplished. If one stops and thinks about it, it is the children of the residents that are getting sucked into the gangs. If parents/residents are unaware of the characteristics of gangs, how can they recognize if their child is in a gang?

After speaking with community leaders and law enforcement officials, it was obvious that everyone had a theory about why Latino youth were involved in gangs. After compiling everyone’s theories and opinions, three major structures were pointed out as contributors or deterrents to a child’s path—the family unit, the education system, and religious institutions. Because Latino children are not connecting with their families, schools, and churches, they turn elsewhere for that connection and some Latino children turn to gangs. Gangs provide some Latino children with the structure and support that other, more traditional institutions fail to provide. Furthermore, Latino children turn to gangs for protection, attention, and identity.

According to everyone who was interviewed, Latino children (ranging from ages 9-12) are not receiving the attention and the protection they need from two very important institutions—the family and the schools. In regards to the family, community leaders and law enforcement officials agree that most gang members come from "dysfunctional" families. A "dysfunctional" family was described as a household with divorced or separated parents, or a single-female headed household. Because two parents were not readily available for their children, children lack structure, morals, discipline, attention, and positive role models. According to Rich Espinoza, the Director of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, families like these are trapped in a double-edged sword situation—either they go to work and provide the bare essentials for their family, or they work less and go without certain basic needs being fulfilled; however, their children would receive the support and supervision that might keep them out of a gang.

Parents need to be present in their children’s lives in order to guide their children and aid them in development of their character. Criminology professor Laurin A. Wollan, Jr. (1994) wrote, "To stop crime requires us to once again learn how to inculcate character in young people" (p.43). However, many parents are unable to stay home because they have to work. According to Enrique Guzman, the Coordinator of a youth group called Yo Puedo, "children are sitting at home without supervision because their single-parent is either sleeping or a work (usually a second or third shift job)." According to Dennis Malaret, a sociology professor at Grand Valley State University, these young people sit at home without structure or parental supervision, become bored and go out with others who are in similar situations. They bond together and develop a family of their own—a gang.

The major problem with this is that these youth are still too young to have been instilled with morals that help them distinguish between right and wrong. In a gang the blind lead the blind, the naïve lead the naïve. These children then think that behavior such as writing on walls, drug trafficking and other illegal activities, are okay. In these youth’s eyes, they are leaning how to survive in a cruel world the only way they know how. Malaret explained that these youth do not understand concepts like dignity because their parents are not there to teach it to them. We live in a society where money and material possessions dictate who we are, so how can we tell and adolescent that an honest fifty-six dollars a day and modest clothing is more admirable than five hundred dollars a day and expensive clothing?

Such concepts need to be instilled in children at a young age and constantly reinforced. Even when parents are present, many are not able to implant morals into their children because they simply are not ready to be parents. Officer Salinas said that some "parents are lacking in parental skills." For example, some parents may simply be socially immature, having had children as teenagers. Without maturity, the parent is unable to teach responsibility, morals, enforce education, or even give the child a fighting chance at a good future. Gloria Gonzalez Torres, a translator at the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, explained that when children are having children, it is impossible for proper guidance to be there. Torres speaks from experience when she talks about maturity being an important factor because she had a child at a very young age, and that child is currently in prison. Torres explained that children need to have strong morals implanted into them before they enter Kindergarten. If the child has these strong morals by the time they are five or six-years-old, they will be ready for the choices they will have to make in school.

Among their many functions, schools are supposed to be safety nets for children trapped in "dysfunctional" families. However, if Latino children are not positively engaged in school, then school can be a breeding ground for gangs. One of the problems Carrillo noticed with the education system is that it fails to provide children with adequate attention. Because some Latino children are not receiving the proper help and attention they need, they feel alienated. According to Espinoza, school can provide a child with the sense of pride and accomplishment or embarrassment and shame. If children feel good about themselves, they are less likely to be involved in clandestine activities. If children feel poorly about themselves, then they will find other ways to build up their ego. Espinoza explained, "because Hispanics are proud people, they are less likely to ask for help if they do not understand something, and they may get pushed through school without being able to read." Pride is not the only factor that makes this occur. Community leaders were very concerned about parental involvement being very low in the schools. Because parents are not stressing the importance of school and they are not becoming involved in their children’s school, according to Niemchick and Carrillo, Latino children are floating through school and not acquiring the proper education they need. When parents do not stress to children the importance of school, why would children feel that school is important?

"Parents need to show children the importance of school by taking part in school functions" said Carrillo. Not only will parents indicate the importance of school through their own participation, they will also be able to monitor their children’s progress. With parents communicating with teachers, they will be more aware of their children’s needs, and can acquire help for their children before they fall behind in their studies. This way the dropout rate could be reduced because children will not be so embarrassed or ashamed. (Also, truancy can be reduced because parents will have better knowledge of their children’s whereabouts.) Even though these children are not "stupid," their self-esteem will be low because they are not doing well; therefore, they will think they are stupid. Instead of building good peer groups with those who are doing well, they will build relationships with those who are in the same situation as them. According to Espinoza, "if children are doing poorly in school, they will not acquire acceptance from the ‘brighter’ children because the ‘brighter’ children will not want to be around the children who are doing poorly." In turn, children will seek acceptance elsewhere. This is where gangs play a special role. According to Malaret, "gangs are filled with children who are looking for attention. They may receive negative attention but nonetheless it is attention." Not only are these youth receiving the attention that they are lacking, but they are also fulfilling the need to belong and feel safe.

These youth feel lonely because they are not acquiring attention. Along with this loneliness is a feeling of alienation and insecurity. These children want and need a place where they feel they belong. Torres explained how "some of us are not as strong as others," so the need for acceptance and belonging is more important to some. Adolescents is a troubling and difficult time in the first place because of all the physical changes, feeling like one belongs is almost impossible. To add in factors, such as poor grades, a child’s self-esteem has basically hit rock bottom. According to Kelly Kasul, a Social Worker at Kent County Corrections Facility, "children join gangs in order ‘to fit in’." The Latino children involved in gangs join in order to find a place where they feel they belong—a place they feel important and safe. Gangs make youth feel important and safe because the support they have from their fellow peers. The sanctity of a gang is where Latino youth are not making their connections because they do not have a connection with their families or their schools. Kasul feels that the lack of connection within the family was why Latino children sought a family of their own. According to everyone who was interviewed, Latino children sought protection and safety from their gangs because their school and family did not provide that. According to Espinoza, these children need to be part of a gang in order to have protection from the gang they join and from other gangs. Espinoza grew up in Chicago in a highly gang populated area. When Espinoza walked to school, he walked through the territory of several rivaling gangs. By joining the gang that was prominent in the area he lived in, then he would have the protection of that gang during his walk to school. However, if he did not join the gang that was prominent where he lived, then he would need protection from that gang as well as all the other gangs in the neighborhood. Once Espinoza explained this to his father, his father packed up his family and they moved to Michigan. Espinoza was lucky to get out of that situation, however, not everyone has the option to move. So what does a family do?

Another social institution that has lost its grip on some Latino youth is the church. According to Espinoza, the church is supposed to be another safety net for children who are not connecting with their families or schools. However, Espinoza felt that this safeguard is only effective if the families of these youth had influenced their children into attending church. Some Latino children are just not making this traditional connection. Rather, some Latino youths find a different connection to religion in gangs that warps and perverts traditional linkage.

Religion has been a big part of gangs since the formation of many gangs. Gangs take a religion and incorporate it into their gang in order to fulfill their purposes. Berkhof mentioned that religion can be seen in the graffiti on the building walls. She said that the most common religious symbol used in graffiti is the cross. Other religious symbols are also used. For example, the Folk Alliance uses the six point Star of David. The Star of David is a Jewish religious symbol in honor of King David of Solomon (http://www.ci.madison). As it was mentioned earlier, the Folk adopted this symbol in 1974 because their leader King David Barksdale was assassinated (Longo, 1998, p. 2). The People Alliance uses the five-point star to represent their alliance. The Star of Islam was adopted when a gang known as El Rukns developed in the 1960s (Longo, 1998, p.1). The gang adopted the beliefs of the Moorish Science Temple of America (Longo, 1998, p. 1). The People Alliance also use a pyramid to symbolize their group which means "cornerstone" and has biblical references (Gang Identification Manual, 1996). From the appearance of this information, it could be said that some young people are attracted to gangs for religious reasons. Youth may not be making traditional connections with churches, but they are making connections with religion through gangs. Technically, these symbols could be used for reasons other than religion. (Not much information was acquired, pertaining to religion, so further conclusions about the relationship between gangs and religion are uncertain. Many questions remain unanswered.)

According to the Grand Rapids Police Department, there are no "gangs" in Grand Rapids, just "troubled youth". The former Grand Rapids police administration governed by Chief Haggerty would not use the term "gangs" when speaking to the public about gang-related incidences. As a matter of fact, Chief Haggerty did not release much information to the media in regards to activities that could be labeled as gang activity (Lilly, 1998). The reason behind this thinking was that if information was given to the media about gang activities, the media may increase the problem of the gang activities through publicity. According to Officer Salinas, "Haggerty did not want the gang problem in Grand Rapids to become like the gang problem in Los Angeles." The fear behind media coverage is that a rival gang would become angered by the publicity that another gang was receiving. In turn, that gang would go out and do something in order to acquire publicity as being a worse gang than their rival gang is. There was the fear that this type of publicity would start a chain reaction of events amongst rivaling gangs (Salinas, 1998). According to Detective Lilly, the administration also feels that the gang activity in the area has faded away since last summer. This is because a group of officers were put on special assignment who worked closely with the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) in order to deport the illegal youth who were causing problems (Lilly, 1998). Because of such activities that happened last summer, violent activity in the area has dropped as of November (Lilly, 1998). However, Lilly warns that "just because the activity is not apparent, that does not mean that it has gone away—just underground."

Even thought the Grand Rapids Police Department does not acknowledge the existence of gangs, efforts are being made to curb youth away from gang activity. For example, the Roosevelt and Garfield Park Neighborhoods Associations have officers assigned to their organization. These officers will take part in community policing. This means that they will have more contact with the residence within the community as well as the youth. With more contact in the community, residents are not as fearful of the police because the police officers are brought within the community’s reach. According to Carrillo, the officer they had, Lori Dykstra, was required to spend thirty percent of her time in the Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods Association’s office. Officer Dykstra was made readily available for youth or community members to visit with her. According to Niemchick, Officer Dykstra made such an impact on the community that the night after she was shot by an intoxicated person, the neighborhood association was swamped with phone calls from community members who were concerned and outraged. Niemchick said, "Dykstra made a big impact on the kids. When she was shot, I took three known gang members to visit her in the hospital because they were concerned." According to Detective Lilly, as of the first of April, a new chief has taken over, Chief Dolan, and he is very well known for his strong beliefs in community policing. Lilly anticipates changes in the police department and the community.

Another way the Grand Rapids Police Department has helped the community, according to Officer Salinas, has been through funding four Community and Youth Service Centers. The G.R.P.D. helped put them together, but now these centers are being run by the community. Salinas explained that the functions of these centers are "to provide services and needs for the people in the area." These services include family counseling, job hunting, tutoring and other programs to curb youth away from delinquency. It is very positive to see that the community is now running these programs because, according to Detective Lilly, "the real efforts have to come from the community at large."

In comparison to larger cities, such as Chicago and Los Angeles, Grand Rapid’s gang problem appears to be very minor. However, gangs whether large or small are still a gang and a problem. Community programs and community policing are just some of the efforts that are being made to curb youth away from gang-like activities. The fact that gangs still exist in Grand Rapids does not mean community programs or local police agencies are failing at their jobs. First, gangs are very complex. Second, community organizations and police agencies need to establish a better way of communicating with one another. Finally, parents and community members have to become more involved and educated about gangs. Community programs and police efforts can only succeed if communities show that they care by getting involved. The gang problem can only, truly be impacted by the community itself. A community-wide effort needs to be made and a message has to be delivered—"these are our streets and our children and we do not want gangs." Until the community becomes educated and this message is made clear, gangs will continue to exist.

Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association

Another community organization is the Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association. This year is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Garfield Park Association, making it one of the oldest in the area. Their office is located on Burton SE near Madison SE. The Association covers the two and a half square mile area between freeway 131 and Eastern, and between Cottage Grove and 28th Street. This area is home to approximately 16,000 residence according to the 1990 Garfield Park Neighborhood census. Five ambitious individuals head the Association. Bobbi Berkhof is the Crime Prevention Organizer for the southwest side, while Ginger Hallwachs is the Crime Prevention Organizer for the southeast side. Chris Kouyer is the Executive Director; Lara Wildeboer is the Volunteer Coordinator, and Lupe Guitierrez is the Community Organizer. All five coordinators of the Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association carryout the goals or mission statement of the organization--to watch over the welfare of the residence and beautification of the neighborhood.

The Crime Prevention Organizers go into the community and meet with community members. Bobbi Berkhof explained, "I love my job because it is so multifaceted." The Crime Prevention Organizers attend and organize block meetings and neighborhood watch programs. They also help prevent crime, such as breaking and entering (B and E’s), by informing community members of simple, streetwise tactics. For example, Berkhof explained that B and E’s occur especially around the Christmas holiday because people put boxes outside that advertise what is in the house. Boxes, such as Color TV boxes, should be cut up and put in a plastic bag in order to not advertise that a brand new television is in the house. They also take part in Wrap-Around Services, which aids families who are struggling.

Chris Kouyer, the Executive Director, has the pencil-pushing job of taking care of finances for the Association. She takes care of tracking expenses as well as grant writing in order to acquire more money. Lara Wildeboer, coordinates volunteers. The volunteer projects range from shoveling snow for the elderly to supervising juveniles sentenced to community service to providing child-care for neighborhood residence. Currently Wildeboer is working with 900 volunteers.

Lupe Gutierrez, who is the community organizer and in the midst of retiring, runs the neighborhood beautification projects. He coordinates graffiti cleanups, ensures sanitation in the allies, and monitors street lighting. Gutierrez works with the Volunteer Coordinator to get volunteers to paint over walls that have enormous amounts of graffiti. He also makes sure that the garbage is being picked up in the allies. Sometimes, the sanitation services forget to pick up the trash. Also, by monitoring the streetlights, he increases safety in the area.

Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods Association

In comparison to the Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association, Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods Association has not been in existence as long and is much smaller. Roosevelt Park is run by three people: Mabel Carrillo, Crime Prevention Organizer; Julie Niemchick, Crime Prevention Organizer; and Mary Angelo, Executive Organizer. Mabel Carrillo has been with Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods association for two years now; however, she grew up in the area and even went to Hall School. The Crime Prevention Organizer position is very similar to that of Garfield Park. They meet with block captains, act as a resource for the residence of the neighborhood and organize programs such as a three-on-three basketball tournament. The Crime Prevention Organizers also organize volunteers in the community. For example, the Bucket Brigade consists of youths that volunteer their time to go through the community and paint over graffiti. Also, volunteers are acquired through the Service Corp. Basically, the Service Corp pays youths to volunteer at places like Roosevelt Park.

Mary Angelo is the Executive Organizer, which is a combination of the Executive Director and the Community Organizer found at Garfield Park. Not only is she responsible for taking care of the organization’s finances, she is also responsible for beautification of the neighborhood and creating programs. In the past, Angelo has raised money through donations to build the Roosevelt Park Library and the new playground at Hall School. Besides creating programs and raising money, Angelo also works with the youth from the neighborhood. According to Niemchick and Carrillo, she builds excellent connections with the youth, especially the gang members. Her bridges are so well built that gang members actually call to give tips on criminal activities as well as come to her to ask for help on getting their gang tattoos removed. Also, through a grant, she has been able to hire gang members to go through the community and clean the graffiti.

The main difference between the Garfield Park and Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods Association is that Roosevelt Park has had a police officer in their office. According to Carrillo, they are awaiting the arrival of their new officer. Carrillo indicated that their officer would be working with the officer that Garfield Park would be receiving soon. For a while, the two officers will be working together in the communities in order to crackdown hard on some of the increased gang activity as well as create bonds with the community.

The Hispanic Center of Western Michigan

The Hispanic Center of Western Michigan has been in the Grandville area since 1978; it is located inside La Clinica Santa Maria on Franklin and Grandville Avenue SE. Rich Espinoza, the Director, said that the Hispanic Center has three major functions: information and referrals, employment and training, interpretation and translation. They provide community members with information such as where to find food stamps and housing. If a person needs assistance that the Hispanic Center does not provide, the center can refer that person to other agencies that can assist them better. The Hispanic Center also looks over people’s job applications, and assesses what experience and qualifications they have. The applicant can peruse a book of jobs, or the interviewer can point them to a section of jobs they would fill most successfully. The Center also tries to refer people to agencies that provide job training. Lastly, the Hispanic Center provides interpreters. They presently hold contracts for the court system, and all the major hospitals. This service is provided twenty-four hours a day and in twenty different languages. They also have a small contract with the Grand Rapids Police Department. The service they provide them is a cultural sensitivity training in which they are emersed into the Hispanic culture in a ninety-hour course. The class size is about twenty officers and it occurs in the fall. Pilar Fernandez Santos is the coordinator for the course, but it is taught by several instructors. One instructor will teach Spanish grammar, while Hispanic groups will come in and explain the differences between the different cultures. For example, someone from Mexico may say something differently than someone from the Dominican. One may take this as aggressive language rather than a trait of the culture. The cultural sensitivity training course provides police officers with the tools to understand Latinos. Also, the program gives the officers some insight into the culture, so fear and ignorance is not interfering with their job. As Espinoza put it, "it is like us [Hispanics] protecting the police in order for them to protect us [Hispanics]."

Yo Puedo

Another youth prevention group, Yo Puedo, is having its ten-year anniversary this year. This group is made up of a majority of Latino youths. This year the program has one hundred students involved from four different schools--Westwood Middle School, Union High School, Central High School, and the RM Center. A sheet is made available at these schools for fifty students to sign up for the program. Then, these fifty students will get the opportunity to listen to Enrique Guzman, the Program Coordinator, speak about Yo Puedo. The next step is a screening process in which twenty students are selected from each school (two groups of twenty are chosen from Westwood). Basically, Guzman chooses fifteen children who are in need of the program and five that can act as role models. However, he does not inform the students who the role models are. According to Guzman, the program's goals are to teach children that they can do something positive with their futures, and preventive intervention. The name Yo Puedo translates to "I can" which is the first goal. This goal is carried out by bringing to the group successful Latinos from the community to speak with the children. Speakers, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers, act as role models. Guzman’s program also teaches Latino youth to accept the fact that they are different because they are Hispanic, but that is not a negative thing. He tells them, "Accept who you are, be proud". The program acts as a preventive service as well. Guzman has themes set up for the month in which he has speakers talk about drugs and gangs. He feels that if the children know some of the harsh realities to drugs and gangs, than maybe they will avoid them.

© 1998 Joanne M. Catania, Criminal Justice major, Grand Valley State University

Interviews

Bobbi Berkhof

Garfield Park Neighborhoods Association

334 Burton SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Mabel Carrillo and Julie Niemchick

Roosevelt Park Neighborhoods Association

1251 Grandville Avenue SW

Grand Rapids, MI 49509

(616) 243-2489

Rich Espinoza, Pilar Fernandez Santos, and

Gloria Gonzales Torres

Hispanic Center of Western Michigan

730 Grandville Avenue SW

Grand Rapids, MI 49503-4920

(616) 742-0200

Enrique Guzman

Yo Puedo

Kent County Wellness and Preventive Services

822 Cherry Street SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

(616) 458-8521

Danielle Hopson

Jump Mentoring Program

Grand Rapids Public Schools

West Middle School

615 Turner NW Room 43

Grand Rapids, MI 49504

(616) 771-2746

Detective David Lilly

Grand Rapids Police Department

(616) 456-3787

Dr. Dennis Malaret

Grand Valley State University

Sociology Department

243 AuSable Hall

Allendale, MI 49401

(616) 895-3113

Jaime Malone

El Hispano News

1451 Grandville Avenue SW

Grand Rapids, MI 49509

(616) 452-1511

Kelley Kasul

Kent County Juvenile Corrections

(number unavailabe upon request)

Michael Salinas

Grand Rapids Police Department

(616) 465-3403

Government Documents

Kent County Corrections Facility (1996). Gang Manual.

Media

Olmos. E. J. [Director] (1992). American Me. MCA Universal: California.

Articles and/or Books

Longo, M. Sgt. (1998). Gang Information. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4207/gangs.html

Novagate Communications Corporation (1997). Gangs in West Michigan. http://www.novagate.com/novasurf/wmgangs.html

Murphy, C. & Tripke, E. (1997). People and the Folk. http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/police/pf.html