Public Employee Press

Keeping kids out of street gangs

As a Recreation Director, Stephanie L. Harris has a mission of inculcating good citizenship in the children and youths who visit the J. Hood Wright Recreation Center in Washington Heights.

But Harris, the vice president of Local 299, says youth gangs threaten her mission.

Though the Dept. of Parks and Recreation has a policy of keeping gangs out of its centers, that doesn’t stop gangs from trying to recruit the youths who use the facilities. Workers like Harrison are on a constant lookout for signs of recruitment — and they readily warn the children about the downside of joining.

“We have afternoon programs at the center, and we try to watch out for the younger kids and discourage them for joining gangs,” Harris said. “Kids from unstable families are more susceptible to joining a gang.”

Harris was among 30 Local 299 members who recently attended an all-day conference about gangs. The training helped them learn how to discourage youths from joining and provided background on the activities and culture of the gangs (such as colors, hand signals and handshakes) and tips about dealing with gang presence in the workplace.

“A gang member can help a weak kid become stronger. But there is a dark side, the criminal side. We don’t want our kids to become statistics,” said Harris.

“We are trying to keep these kids clean,” she said. “We try to talk to the wannabes. We are like surrogate parents in the centers.”

The Local 299 Recreation Directors and Playground Associates were among 100 workers who attended the conference March 23. The session was sponsored by Local 299, DC 37, the Recreation and Parks Society and the state Office of Children’s and Family Services.

“Though our members face gang-related problems as they carry out their jobs, city agencies are not meeting their commitment to provide us with the proper on-going training,” said Local 299 President Lou Sbar, explaining why the union arranged the conference.

The problem confronts employees throughout the city who work with youths. Until recently, Sbar was a Recreation Supervisor at Horizon Juvenile Center, one of the Dept. of Juvenile Justice’s three youth detention centers. “Much of the violence in the centers is gang-related, and gang members sometimes threaten and intimidate workers,” he said.

“A solution will only come when the agencies decide to deal realistically with the issue rather than sweeping it under the rug,” said Sbar. “Until then, we will continue to aid our members with training that helps them protect themselves and promotes safety on the job.”