iYA! YOUTH ACTIVISM Homies Unidos
Ballvié, Teo
THE FLOOD OF DEPORTED gang members from Los Angeles and other U.S. inner cities to El Salvador and the rest of Central America fuels a gang problem of epidemic proportions. Gangs existed well...
...Working to build mutual understanding between families and gang members we enlist support from families for their children's struggle to embrace a life without violence," says their Web site <www.homiesunidos.org...
...Transnational problems require equally transnational solutions...
...Founded in 1996 by 22 youth from different gangs in El Salvador, Homies has developed an impressive international reach, yet their projects also focus on community building at the local level...
...The criminalization of youth by heavy-handed policing and authoritarian legislation has forced them to seek creative solutions to potentially devastating problems...
...We understand that gangs exist not because youth are delinquent, but rather because civil society and communities lack in resources...
...The art program is one of their most successful projects...
...Gangs existed well before the renatriations, but with the end of the civil wars, the importation of U.S...
...Since many of the deportees to El Salvador are almost wholly unfamiliar with their native country, Homies tries to ease their transition...
...The implementation of the Mano Dura (Heavy Hand) model-aggressive, zero tolerance anti-gang measuresthroughout Central America has severely aggravated violence against, and the criminalization of, youth...
...The measures make gang membership illegal, allowing police to detain people only suspected of belonging to a gang...
...Homies seeks policies that work toward rehabilitation and reintegration of poor youth rather than result in the violation of their human rights," adds Rocio Santacruz, who directs their international human rights campaign...
...They also learn how powerful art can be as an educational tool...
...Strong families are key to violence prevention...
...As former gang members, the staff at Homies Unidos is acutely aware of the causes of, and potential solutions to, youth violence and gang membership...
...Rehabilitated gang members are often arrested, because their visible tattoos make them indistinguishable from active members in the eyes of police...
...We recognize that within gang structures there exists delinquency, organized crime, drugs and other negative factors, but we at Homies Unidos also recognize the untapped potential of youth that become involved with gangs...
...Participants are exposed to forms of alternative expression through workshops, lectures and fieldtrips...
...Homies also provides free classes to "anyone, young or old" interested in taking their high school diploma equivalency exam...
...A recent press release by Homies, addressing the responses of Central American governments to youth violence, states, "The organization's mission is to address gang violence on an international level through advocacy, action, public awareness and a focus on prevention and intervention...
...To be admitted into the program, participants are required to attend a ten-week alternative education program with a curriculum that includes, among other things, anger management, drug and alcohol education, and life skills development sessions...
...Homies Unidos exemplifies this strategy with their projects in San Salvador and Los Angeles...
...The bulk of their work combines alternative education, leadership development, self-esteem building and health education programs...
...In response, Homies has initiated a weekly tattoo with local health clinics...
...The organization facilitates communication between deportees in El Salvador and their families in the United States...
...gang structures and practices ensures their proliferation and entrenchment...
Vol. 38 • July 2004 • No. 1
