After the gang talks, what next?

Out of the winter’s series of gang violence prevention forums has come a new kind of group, made up of concerned parents, business and professional people, community leaders, educators and, on an equal footing, youth themselves, all working together to discover what young people in the community need and want and how the community might help them. United Community Resources for Youth, UCRY, is working from the “grassroots” up, learning from and being guided by youth and their parents.
For many members, this is their first time participating on a committee. At the core of this new group is the idea of enabling youth and parents to make decisions about programs for themselves. Mario Castillo, parent and community worker, said the group is about identifying the needs in providing resources for youth, figuring out what’s out there, getting people what they need, finding out where there are gaps, trying to sort that out. Members of the new group, from very different backgrounds and experience, agree that the exciting thing is that all have equal seating at the table.
“When we sat down together, we already knew that it wasn’t just about gangs,” said Castillo. Another member, parent and community worker Celeste Winders, said that the group’s purpose is to discover, create, and develop resources for youth, just as their name with the funny acronym –UCRY– says. “We’re not looking to be another non-profit. We’re looking to work with the agencies that are already out there,” affirmed Anna Pier, who sits on the committee as representative of Sonoma Nonprofit Collaborative, which sponsored the forums on gang intervention. “The youth presence is really important, and equally important, a major Latino presence,“ Pier added. “That’s what makes UCRY unique. That’s what makes us powerful.”
Noemi Solís, recently seated on the committee, hopes it is powerful. Solís says the need to help youth is urgent. The group members are Juan Zaragoza, John Garcia, Noemi Solís, Sebastian Hall, Martina Lutz Schneider, Lisa Simoni, Kenny Johnson, Mario Castillo, Anna Pier, Osias Encarnacion, Kenneth Ramirez, Sandy Torres, Jorge Torres, Kathy Hargitt, Celeste Winders.
The group meets every Tuesday in the CommonBond Conference Room, at 172 West Napa Street, starting at 6:15 p.m. During the first fifteen minutes of every meeting any member of the community is welcome to speak to the committee about concerns and hopes for youth.
UCRY invites everyone interested in learning about its work to come to a community meeting Monday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at El Verano School. For more information, call 933-0404, ext. 120.