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Tuesday, Sep. 09, 2008

Snared by gang life, one teen finds a way out

Gangs have a stranglehold on our county -- one of the poorest in the state; is it a coincidence?

If a life could be summed up within the pages of a book, then the chapters of 19-year-old Antonio's would mostly be about a Merced boy growing up poor.

One chapter would be about what it's like for eight kids and a single mother to share a two-bedroom apartment, in an area rife with drugs and crime.

Another chapter would be about what it's like to see his mother fall to pieces after hearing that his father wasn't ever coming home again -- and that she'd have to raise the family on her own.

Antonio's book would also include a chapter about what it's like to be a gang member -- to go "on patrol" in search of enemies to beat into a bloody pulp, to break into someone's house and "jack" their video games and appliances and to be on the lam from the law.

His chiseled face is one of thousands who make up the 19.4 percent of people who live below the poverty line in Merced County. Until recently, he was also one of the 3,000 people or so who make up the county's gang population, according to the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

Although many agree that poverty in and of itself may not be the sole cause of gangs, it's one factor that can contribute to the decision someone makes to become a gang member. Poverty rates, family violence, the availability of drugs in the community and low academic achievement all figure into the equation of youth involvement in gangs, according to a 2004 report by researchers Phelan A. Wyrick and James C. Howell, which was published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

That's not to say that everyone who grows up in poverty will become a gang member -- or even a criminal. Those who work in law enforcement will tell you that most poor people are hard-working. Some of them move on to become college presidents, doctors, lawyers, police and other well-regarded role models in the community.

And not everyone joins a gang for the same reason. Police say they've seen examples of kids from middle-class families with both parents in the household who've fallen into the chasm of gang life. Others may join because they're threatened and feel forced into it, while some may be in a gang because it's a trend -- it's cool.

Nearly everyone agrees, though, that the abysmal poverty situation in the state's fifth-poorest county doesn't help produce college graduates. Sam Rangel, director of New Hope Merced, a nonprofit faith-based organization that works to rehabilitate gang members, estimates that 90 percent of the gang members he meets come from poor backgrounds -- or grow up in areas where opportunities are limited, violence and illegal drugs are common and access to positive role models is nonexistent.

Such conditions, says Rangel, have created a "cloud of hopelessness" among many youth -- and some end up turning to gangs for support. "I think poverty plays a real important part (of gangs)," Rangel said. "Being deprived will always create a want in somebody. Whether someone tries to achieve that want by negative or positive means is up to that person."

Despite the grim statistics, however, there are stories of young people who've emerged from the dire straits of poverty and gangs to elevate themselves above that cloud of hopelessness. The story of Antonio is a snapshot from the life of one of the lucky ones.

From gang-banger to minimum-wage earner

Few people would look at a minimum-wage job as a new beginning. In Antonio's case, however, it's a 180-degree turn from being in jail with people accused of murder, assault and other crimes.