A member of the community, who introduced himself as Norm, was the first to question members of the panel during the forum Monday night.
Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley SUN
Anna Pier
Director of Educational Programs, CommonBond Foundation
Monday evening November 19 marked the birth of a new community in Sonoma. Almost 200 adults sat crowded together into the gym at El Verano School for a forum on the issue of gangs in Sonoma Valley. The gathering was truly representative of Sonoma. It included Anglos and Latinos, young, middle-aged and old, east and west sides. Workers, tradesmen, business leaders, parents and grandparents, mentors and teachers, administrators and directors, had come together to try to understand the attraction of gang affiliation. From this, they hoped to learn how to act individually and together to help our youth embrace alternatives.
A collaborative of non-profit organizations brought Bob Florez of Florez’ Youth Insights, F.Y.I., to speak and lead this community conversation for adults. With him were four former gang members. These young men, from rival gangs, gave testimonials about their gang involvement and shared some of the reasons that had led them to join a gang.
The huge turnout for the first forum on gangs reflects the realization that some of the young people in our Valley are in crisis. Sonoma is in mourning. We mourn the lost life of the young man shot to death, and the damaged lives of the despairing young men accused of the crime. We mourn a loss of innocence in our town. Innocence was being eroded long before October 29, but the tragic event of that night woke us up. The birth of a community, like most births, will take a long time. It has already involved pain, and there was pain in the questions from some of the participants. One high school teacher sought help for dealing with her students whose notebooks are filled with gang signs. The father of a student in the last eight grade class to graduate from El Verano School asked how we could change things for our youth.
This introductory forum will be followed by a series of four more, every Monday evening from now till December 17. On November 26 the forum will focus on how to recognize signs of gang involvement, and the ways adults in the community can help youth who show these signs of involvement. The forums will be held at El Verano School, located at 18606 Riverside Drive, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Free childcare and Spanish translation will be available.
The generous sponsorship of the Sonoma Valley Chapter of Realtors makes these forums possible. Members of the organizing collaborative include the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, La Luz Center, Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Valley of the Moon Teen Center, Hanna Boys Center, CommonBond Foundation, Nuestra Voz, Sonoma Valley Ministerial Association, Social Advocates For Youth, and the Boys & Girls Club Valley of the Moon. For more information call 707.933.0404, ext. 120.
Audio recordings of the forum are available in both English and Spanish on the website for KSVY 91.3 Sonoma. Visit www.ksvy.org and click on the “Gang Forum” link.
