ABSTRACT
The idea of several gang members coming together in one location even if they were prior gang members caused safety concerns. In reviewing the totality of the circumstances, robust and sustainable efforts must identify the root causes. The path from a gang member in good standing with the gang to that of a former gang member that's totally clean is a very difficult journey. Very few gang members will seek out help in order to get out of the gang. Seeking help from an outside group or source is a foreign concept to most gang members. The social worker had taken a very large problem and did her very best to put a Band-Aid on it. The program actually may have helped several of the juveniles who attended in various different ways. Garrick Plonczynski and Ben Pieper both spoke to several of the juveniles after the meetings had been ceased and the program had been terminated.
