Local event aims to help prevent kids from joining gangs

A recent city report said in the last three years, more than 85% of homicides in Salinas were gang related. For the third time in the past four years, Monterey County has had the highest youth homicide rate in California.

At the annual Crossroads Gang Prevention Summit, several hundred teens heard from law enforcement officials and former gang members about the causes and consequences of joining a gang.

Officials said young people join gangs for different reasons, including social and economic circumstances, lack of supervision and more.

“When I was in 7th grade one of my friends got shot,” said 16-year-old Jasmine Mejia of Salinas. “It was pretty dramatic for me. I really didn’t know how to cope with it.”

Bryan Chavez also had a friend killed by a gang member. Chavez has even been asked to join a gang.

“He said that the benefits, I would get a lot of money and that all the women would love it,” said Chavez. “The women think that it’s tough. I knew absolutely right away that it was a dead target, that it was going to lure me into a bad future.”

To help young people going through similar situations, the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County hosted their annual Crossroads Gang Prevention Summit.

“We believe in young people here in Monterey County,” said Michael Jackson, President and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County. “We want to support them. We want to partner with anybody who believes that they’ve got good ideas that will help young people be successful in Monterey County.”

More than 250 kids were taught how to make positive choices and heard from speakers about their personal stories about being involved with and getting out of gangs.

“Influencing young people and having the dialog remain open is very important to diverting them from criminal activity,” said Chief Adele Frese, Salinas Police Department.

Officials said Monterey County has an estimated 5,000 certified and affiliated gang members. About 3,000 thousand of them are living in Salinas. Kids join as early as seven-years-old.

“A lot of times children become products of their environment,” said Rosemary Soto with the Monterey County Gang Violence Prevention Initiative. “A lot of times they are products of institutionalization around them.”

“It is kinda hectic walking to school because I don’t know maybe one day what if someone comes up to me and tells me what I claim or something like that,” said Mejia.

County officials said there are community wide strategies and efforts at play to reduce violence and gangs. Events like the summit help even more.

“Now that I’m here it’s just given me a better chance to improve my life skills and help me in the future,” said Chavez.

The Boys and Girls Club said 91 percent of the Crossroads Gang Prevention Summit attendees said they are less likely to join a gang.