Voice Post

Thomas is a gang researcher from Los Angeles, and has had the “Los Angeles Gangs” blog since November 2008. There are not many posts on this blog, but in November 2008 he discussed topics such as: gang-free schools and communities program, the G.R.E.A.T program, adolescent homicides in Los Angeles, gang prevention strategies, and the United States most dangerous gang, MS 13. His first and last post of June 2009 was about police and gangs. I focused on Thomas’ “Gang-Free Schools - Is it Possible?” and “Police and Gangs” posts. 

The first post, “Gang-Free Schools - Is it Possible?,” explains the Gang-Free Schools and Communities Program that was launched in 2000 to address/reduce youth gang crime in schools and communities throughout the nation. This post is very academic because Thomas writes professionally, similar to an essay. It has a structure that introduces the topic, then explains phase 1 and 2 of the program. Since he does not use any slang or vocabulary his voice is strictly professional, and does not take a side on the program. He is simply informing his reader on what the program is. His sentence structure is descriptive and follows proper punctuation. At the end of the post, he adds, “I would like to get your thoughts on this program and whether or not you think it works, and if so, why or why not. It would be very interesting to see what suggestions we may be able to come up with.” This shows his interest in the topic and others opinions on the program he discussed.   

The second post, “Police and Gangs,” begins with a disturbing video of a gang member being chased by police, and then kicked in the head when lying on the floor to be handcuffed. Immediately after the video, Thomas writes, “This video speaks for itself… (or does it it?).” This is establishes his voice as having a conversation with his audience. He states how he feels about the video by saying it’s self-explanatory, and then poses a question that makes the reader think why the content in the video is either right, wrong or both. In this post, Thomas makes it clear that tension will always persist between gang members and police officers. Although he states that gang intervention is a great idea in theory and has worked for some cities, it doesn’t mean it will work for every gang member. He supports his argument by adding many examples of how this has been the case in some situations. Thomas seems to be leaning towards the side of police officers. He states, “To be totally honest with you, some Police are just human. In my personal opinion some are good, some are stubborn, and some are just flat out interesting (aka too dumb to be on the job). Bad decisions are made by all, but when you are a Police Officer, the actions of one can adversely affect us all.”This statement captures his voice because he expresses his honest feelings towards police. He agrees that everyone makes bad decisions, but police officer’s actions are especially looked at because they are the authority. Overall, in this post, Thomas steers away from using proper punctuation, and some of his sentences are shorter than others, which adds to the way he portrays his voice. At the end of the post, he adds, “Please leave your comments below.” This shows that he is open to new ideas by encouraging his readers to comment on this post.

Profile Post

Rachel M. Rudolph is a teacher, writer, and lecturer (Webster University Thailand) from Hua Hin, Thailand. Some of her interests include: politics, reading, writing, traveling, learning of new cultures, meeting different people, engaging in dialogue, and humanity. She has been on Blogger since January 2010 and has three different blogs: “Democracy, Civilization, and World Order,” “Destroying Humanity,” and “Mental Musings.” “Democracy, Civilization, and World Order," began in January 2010 for her students enrolled in the Democracy, Civilization, and World Order course, which examines the different and varying concepts of these topics. Some of the topics of this blog include the differences in liberal democracies, Confucian and Islamic democracy, and the rise of Muslim democracy. She uses this blog to allow her students to read her lectures and post the assignments, so she posts very often February through April 2010 (when the blog ends). The layout of the “Democracy, Civilization, and World Order” blog is a black background with a light green color used for the titles of each blog and white, small text. Although it is very dark, it establishes the seriousness of the topic and her lectures are very well structured in an outline form.   

The “Destroying Humanity” blog also began in January 2010 for her students enrolled in the Globalization and the Human Condition course. The purpose of the course is to reflect on the current state of humanity in a global world by examining human nature from different and varying viewpoints. On this blog, students examine controversial issues that pertain to humanity such as: social fear and inner strength, human nature, religion’s effect, prejudice, the Zeigeist movie, suicide, and male circumcision. Similar to the “Democracy, Civilization, and World Order” blog, it has many blog posts from January through April 2010 (when the blog ends). In contrast, the layout is completely different. It has a light earthy green color for the background, a dark green box for the text, and small, white text. There is less of her lectures in this blog. She does post assignment instructions but it’s more of the students discussions on controversial issues that pertain to humanity.                     

Rachel’s “Mental Musings” blog began in 2014 and has continued to blog frequently throughout this year. This blog is different from her other two because it’s not focused on one topic but many. In 2014, Rachel wrote about Chinese dispute resolution, politics and gender, and gender-based violence in the Asia-Pacific. In 2015, she focused on the inequalities in housing, education, and the criminal justice system in different countries. This year, she is teaching a research methods class where students will learn the research process and apply the knowledge gained to examine civilian-military relations in the 21st century. This section of her blog posts are lectures, homework assignments, and students’ discussions on many civilian-military relations in the 21st century such as Afghanistan and Syrian refugees and insurgency in different countries. The layout of this blog is appropriate with the variety of topics she discusses. The background is a shelf of books, with a light purple box, almost white for the text, and a darker purple towards the top of the blog to emphasize the title of her blog. Her text is small, and black, which contrasts very well with the light purple background. She structures her topics with subheadings and provides her works cited page at the end of each post.

       Rachel’s writing is very academic and although she blogs about a variety of topics, I decided to focus on her posts from July 2015 because they are about gang prevention and intervention. This section of her blog has 29 posts on topics of: 20th century policing of gangs in America, specific gangs such as MS-13, the Mexican Mafia, and gangs of San Quentin State Prison, rehabilitation, gang prevention tactics, and the role of education. “Intervention and Prevention for Street and Prison Gangs,” discusses that when we think of the word gang the first thing that comes to mind is violence and street gangs. However, some don’t often consider motorcycle and prison gangs also being as dangerous and violent as street gangs. This post suggests that changing the gang epidemic will not be an overnight shift but that “major structural and societal changes need to be made” in order to bring change. Some of the suggestions include remodelling the criminal justice system from retributive to restorative, changes in the way people are sentenced, supporting programs that help at risk youth to find something that interests them, and schools need to strengthen their extracurricular programs. Another post that goes into depth about the education system is, “Intervention, Prevention, and the Role of Education.” This post explains the effects of the social gaps in society and inequality. It discusses that many youth join gangs as young as 11-12 years old, and then it gives the example of how some of us saw each other at that age. The education system needs to create opportunities for the youth to steer them away from gang life. In addition, former gang members should not be judged on their past or the way they look, the media also needs to reexamine the way they portray gangs because they could be making things worse by further increasing racial gaps in society. These posts have a powerful voice because it starts by stating the problem and what needs to be done/changed in order for gangs to decrease. She does not seem angry when writing about the problem of gangs, but she seems informative by adding words that state why she is against how certain things are currently being handled rather than simply stating what is wrong with the criminal justice system and education.               

In all of Rachel’s blogs, she shows that she is passionate about every topic and wants to provide her students with an easy way to access her lectures and assignments. It is also a different way for students to post their discussions on the blog and provide readers with various viewpoints on the same topics. Her posts from July 2015 particularly examine gang prevention and intervention. She not only suggests ways to change the gang epidemic but also adds her opinion on gangs becoming larger because gang members are thrown into prison, without working on the root causes, creating international gang networks inside of prison.  

 

History of Street Gangs and Reasons for Joining

When I think of when and how street gangs began, I also think of who were the first groups to create gangs.

History of Street Gangs

Some of the factors that played a role in the emergence of gangs are immigration, poverty, prejudice, urbanization, inadequate living conditions, and ethnicity. Youth have formed groups since the outset of time, usually of their own age group. Gangs of the 1880’s consisted of German, Polish, Irish, and Italian youth. Some of these groups committed what can be considered harmful acts of crime. The response for these types of gangs was that these “maladjusted” youth just needed proper guidance to lead healthy and successful lives. This makes me ask myself why were the German, Polish, Irish, and Italian youth gangs seen differently than the types of gangs we most commonly hear about now, Chicanos, African Americans, and Central Americans.

Ethno-Historical Considerations

Chicanos

Since the inception of Los Angeles: Chicanos were original inhabitants, submerged by changes under Anglo influences, rediscovered later and framed as newcomers throughout different flows of large scale immigration in the 1920’s. Immigration increased the original Mexican plaza settlement, and they were located in ecological inferior spaces/enclaves subjected to flooding or on hills with limited and poor travel routes.  

African American

American Blacks migrated to Los Angeles after WWI and WWII due to jobs. They faced racism and discrimination, and they were zoned to Central Avenue district. They also faced persistent poverty and disruption of social control. The struggles to change the conditions grew during and after the 1960’s, in addition to the lack of leadership after the Civil Rights Movement.    

Central American

The Central American population settled in the 1980’s. They fled their homeland in the midst of a highly charged civil war. They were war torn countries, exposed to high rates of torture and trauma, economic instability, and anti-immigrant social and political climate. This population concentrated to Mid-City (Pico Union/East Hollywood).     

These groups, Chicanos, African Americans, and Central Americans, were already marginalized prior to entering the United States. So now we have to pay special attention to the social control agents: family, school, and law enforcement. Some key factors about social control agents are that they are primary agents who are uniquely adaptive and responsive to the concerns of society. Its joint actions or inactions exacerbate street socialization.

What are Reasons for Joining Gangs?

Every youth has basic needs for feelings of self-worth, identity, acceptance, recognition, companionship, belonging, purpose, and security. When families, schools, churches, and communities do not meet these needs, gangs may! Gangs can often supply what traditional systems have failed to provide (i.e. love, affirmation, encouragement, hope, and a chance). Although this may sound completely dysfunctional, this is what is happening with the current gang problem. Some identifying variables are single parent families (female centered), inadequate supervision of children, domestic violence, family history of alcoholism and drug addiction, below poverty level, inadequate housing, and pressures of acculturation and discrimination. Youth at high risk of joining a gang may show poor school attendance/performance, anti-social behavior, telltale signs of gang activity, gang association, poor family involvement, neighborhood influence, and active gangs in schools.           

 

The history of street gangs plays a large role in the way we view gangs today, and it is also an explanation of why youth are driven to join gangs. It is difficult to understand gang youth mentalities, but it is possible to intervene at an early age to prevent high-risk youth from making irrational decisions.

What is a Gang and Their Culture?

So What is a Gang?

I’ve always wondered how politicians and law enforcement define a gang. According to the California Penal Code 186.22, a gang is “Any on-going organization, association or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of crime (including fights, intimidation, and threats), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal activity.”

What is the Definitional Problem?  

The definitional problem is that there is no accepted or straightforward definition of a gang. Criminologists, sociologists, and other gang researchers have struggled with a definition for years! The U.S. Department of Justice held a series of meetings between researchers, policy makers, community activists, police, and others, but was unsuccessful.    

What are the Consequences of the Definitional Problem?

A gang can be any group that you or another responsible person think is a gang. For example, no disrespect towards any members of Greek life, but fraternities and sororities can be seen as gangs. They fit the definition of a gang. They are on-going organizations of three or more who have a common name, identifying signs and symbols, and to some extent, engage in criminal activity such as underage drinking and hazing.     

Now that I’ve discussed the definition of a gang, the definitional problem and its consequences, what’s missing from the definition?

CULTURE is missing! “The distinctive set of values, beliefs, customs, and morals that have been learned and transmitted through generations and are shared by a small or large group of people with common language and geographical proximity.” Culture is not static. It evolves from dynamic multi-leveled social interactions between individuals and their ecological environment. Culture allows individuals to give meaning and interpretation to life experiences.

  

What can we take from all this information?

When cultural norms are tested and challenged by: individuals or groups (e.g., racial tensions), environmental, social, political, and/or historical differences (e.g., school context, civil war, 3rd world), adaptations occur and give rise to subcultures or contracultures. A subculture or contraculture is “a group of people with a distinct normative system of beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavioral habits that conflict with that of a larger dominant culture.” Gangs emerge when adolescent alienation occurs, and adolescent alienation occurs when family, schools, and other institutions fail to meet youth needs. Identification with the gang contraculture provides: sense of belonging to a family type system, sense of being fully accepted and validated, sense of competency and mastery, an accepted means of managing psychological distress, and sense of personal cultural identity.        

The Gang Culture

The rejection of dominant culture values is evident in the: unique style of dress, slang language and hand signs, tattoos and graffiti symbols, and antisocial behaviors (criminal activity and drug use). The gang contraculture secures prestige, financial success, and status for alienated youth. Some of the gang values include power, respect, loyalty, attachment, commitment, protection, security, unity, and acceptance. These values can be found in the dominant culture; however, gangs maintain a twisted interpretation of them. For example, power is gained by the amount and type of trouble a member experiences. Displaying toughness through physical strength and fighting ability earn respect. Loyalty may be determined by the willingness of a member to commit a drive-by shooting.

The ambiguous definition of a gang and its failure to include culture has caused lots of confusion among society. Culture is very important when defining a gang because it is ultimately one of the primary reasons of gang emergence.

The Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACE)

This week’s guest speaker was Susan L. Hess. She is a senior guest lecturer at the USC School of Social Work. Her primary areas of expertise include intimate partner violence and trauma-informed care. Professor Hess is promoting research and clinical approaches to trauma-informed practices. She is currently furthering her efforts by launching a Trauma-Informed Care Task Force across all systems of care in Los Angeles. Professor Hess’s presentation was about the largest public health study that no one has heard of. The public health study is on the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE).

Professor Hess began by asking the class if anyone has heard of the ACE study. Surely enough, no one in the class had heard of it. She opened up her presentation by asking the question, “What is trauma?” According to Judith Herman, trauma is experiencing intense fear, helplessness, loss of control, and threat of annihilation. A few examples of traumatic experiences include: domestic violence, emotional abuse, war, immigration, racism, educational neglect, incarceration, mental illness, and child maltreatment. There can also be complex trauma, which describes the experience of multiple, chronic, and prolonged developmentally adverse traumas. Some responses include: dissociation, hyperarousal, intrusion, constriction and avoidance, and somatic complaints.    

The ACE study is a survey of ten questions with categories of: abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), neglect, and household dysfunction (mother treated violently, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation/divorce, and incarcerated household member(s)). The amount of questions you answer “yes” to gives you an ACE score (one point for each category). The higher the score, the greater the exposure, and therefore the greater the risk of negative consequences. The ACE score then shows a strong, graded relationship between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent health-related behaviors and outcomes. Professor Hess then poses the question, “How could services be different if this was implemented in systems?” There would be a lot more prediction, prevention, and intervention at an earlier age. Trauma is an important study because people with childhood histories of trauma, abuse, and neglect make up almost the entire criminal justice population in the United States!    

If you would like to see the consequences of lifetime exposure to violence and abuse you can go to coleva.net. If you would like to know your ACE score you can go to http://acestudy.org/ace_score and help spread the word about the largest public health study on the Adverse Childhood Experience.

The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)

Last week’s field site visit was at the ARC Bromont Supportive Housing program in Sylmar, which is a branch of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) location in Los Angeles. ARC began as a support network to change the lives of formerly incarcerated men and women by providing an advocacy network. In order to accomplish this mission, ARC provides support through mentoring, case management, internship, employment opportunities, regular support network meetings, social outings to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, and advocates for fair policies in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The ARC location in Los Angeles provides membership into the organization where over 160 formerly incarcerated individuals are able to use ARC’s resources. Becoming an ARC member commits them to live crime-free, gang-free, drug-free, in school or working, and providing service to their community. Scott Budnick, the founder and president of ARC goes to juvenile halls and prisons where he speaks to and informs the incarcerated members about ARC. Those who are in connection to him are the ones that become ARC members, eventually they are able to apply for housing and get interviewed.  

I purposely decided to not look up any information about the site prior to my visit. Having no information about the organization or the housing program, I was confused as to why the location I was assigned to go to looked like an apartment complex and not an office. However, once we entered the complex, into the office, I understood that this was a housing program. I had never heard about a supportive housing program. During my experience here, I heard from the program manager, the life skills coaches, the trauma therapist, and some of the housing members. Housing is provided for 24 members, and it is a very selective process because they want to have a positive environment where everyone is willing to change. What is different about this supportive housing program and other transitional facilities is that Bromont focuses on independent living. Transitional facilities are very scheduled and sometimes are not allowed to have visitors whereas Bromont requires their members to have a schedule that will lead to self-sufficiency, are allowed to have visitors, are provided with parking, and gym passes. Since the members must attend school or work, they are expected to pay rent, which is usually 30% of their income or 30% of their financial aid.   

The Bromont Housing program has a partnership with the Los Angeles Mission College. The members are encouraged to go to school whether it is part-time or full-time, and they also offer tutoring programs. What striked me the most about this field site visit was hearing from the Bromont members themselves. One of the members has taken a very proactive role within ARC and works with youth in juvenile halls and prisons to help change their mindsets. Now, he is very proud of being seen as an example of positive change. Another member explained that ARC has helped him become part of society again, and he has learned many life skills that he did not know before such as job readiness, cooking, and building credit.

I was able to take a look at the housing units. They consisted of 2 beds, 2 baths, or 3 beds and 2 baths. The apartments were very spacious with a large living room and kitchen, and a balcony. It was very touching to see how emotional the members got when they would say that sometimes their cells were as big as their walking closets. The Supportive Housing program is a two year contract where members learn all the necessary skills to be well equipped upon departure. ARC is currently working on opening a new Supportive Housing program in Pasadena. Scott Budnick and ARC staff want to expand this program to help stop the flow of men and women into the criminal justice system.

"Sin Nombre"

When I was younger, I grew up around gang activity and violence. I knew what it was like to be afraid to walk outside when the sun was going down. I knew what time the gang members would gather by the alley next to the park. I also knew that all the graffiti and tagging on the walls were to mark the gangs territory. Although I knew who the gang members of my neighborhood were, I never quite understood why they would join gangs in the first place.

“Sin Nombre,” which translates into “without a name,” is a powerful movie that allowed me to understand several aspects about gang life and activity that were never explained to me before. The movie not only gives insight on the lives of one of the largest international criminal gangs in the world, Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13), but it allows us to understand the anatomy, culture, and context of gangs. “Sin Nombre,” also exhibits the lives of immigrants boarding an American-bound train and how a Honduran teenager named Sayra, is seeking a better life, along with her long-estranged father. The father and daughter decide to immigrate to Mexico and then enter the United States. During this journey, Sayra’s life collides with gang members from MS 13. I do not want to give too much away about the movie because I really recommend for everyone to watch it, but the series of events that occur throughout the movie are eye opening and really evoke feelings of sadness and violent disturbances.  

In addition, “Sin Nombre,” portrays social concerns and risk factors. Some of the social concerns in the movie are the increase of violence, young children being exposed to weapons and gang activity, immigration, and poverty. Some risk factors that may contribute to youth joining gangs are: having family members who have been part of a gang, single-parent households where the parent does not give enough time/attention thus providing a sense of belonging, attractiveness of the gang as to gain prestige or status among friends, an easy way out by selling drugs and making money, low expectations in school by parents, teachers, and other students, and youth who may already be delinquents.  

In lecture, the class worked on a maps activity where we first drew what our neighborhoods and lives were like at the age of five, and then we drew what our neighborhoods and lives are like now. The class explored that as students we have experienced positive changes in our lives and upward mobility. Whereas gang members may still be in the mindset of the first picture we drew of when we were children. If you think back, when you were younger you only trusted a few people, you did not have too much knowledge on the dangers of society, and may have also been afraid to try new things. Gang members only have a few people they can trust and may not be open to new ideas because it is what they have been used to all their lives. After watching the movie, you will understand why this class activity is relevant in understanding why gangs exist.

Homeboy Industries

This week’s guest speaker was a former gang member who has moved his way up to Associate Executive Director in Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries, is an organization that embraces former gang members by providing hope, training, and support. Each year, over 10,000 former gang members in Los Angeles go to Homeboy Industries in an effort to make a positive change. Full-time employment is offered for more than 200 men and women at a time through an 18-month program. This position allows former gang members to rethink who they are and what they want to do with their new lives. There are also a variety of programs and services available in Homeboy Industries: education, employment, case management, legal services, mental health, substance abuse support, tattoo removal, domestic violence, and solar panel training program. These programs and services allow men and women to redirect their lives by becoming contributing members of our community.

Founder and Executive director, Father Gregory Boyle, was born and raised in Los Angeles. He knows what it is like to grow up in a city where gangs are increasing. Fr. Greg wanted to develop an environment that provides training, work experience, and the opportunity for rival gang members to work together. So, Homeboy Industries arose in an effort to address the escalating problems and needs of gang-involved youth.

An example of Fr. Greg’s amazing work is seen in this week’s guest speaker. The guest speaker told us his life story about where he grew up, what led him to be involved with gangs, years in prison, and what made him seek a new life. He explained that often times, youth choose the gang lifestyle because they grow up around it. He grew up in the projects, where he was exposed to drugs, violence, and a lack of love from his family. In addition to growing up around gangs, there is family involvement in gangs, which leads to descendants also being in a gang as a legacy. Firstly, he did not have an authoritative figure in his life to tell him not to hang out with the wrong crowd. Secondly, he was constantly exposed to chaos. But, it’s not as simple as being told who to hang out with or not because that is the environment he was raised in 24/7. He went to juvenile hall and prison due to illegal work, and he came back out still doing what got him into prison and spending lots of money on alcohol, women, and parties. Eventually, almost overnight, he lost everything and was sleeping on his brother’s couch, unemployed, and having no sense of direction. After going through so much in his life, he sought help with Fr. Greg. What worked for him is that Fr. Greg did not try to push Catholicism on him and he certainly did not lecture him on what he had done was wrong. Fr. Greg simply listened to him, understood him, gave him options, and it was up to him to choose what would be best for him.

The guest speaker enlightened me on the series of events that occur in a gang member’s life. I really enjoyed listening to his story because it allows me to understand why gangs are increasing and why youth sometimes have no way out but to join a gang. It made me think of the power of love and how gang members need to want out of this lifestyle in order to make a change. Fr. Greg knows that former gang members and those who have been incarcerated have very limited options when searching for a job or a welcoming establishment. However, Homeboy Industries receives and welcomes them with open arms, allowing them to start over.    

P.C.I.T.I.

Los Angeles, a city I call home and known for its many attractions, but not much light is shed on its darkness. Its darkness of increasing youth gangs and violence. This raises the question: what is being done to address the gang “epidemic?” For this week’s field site visit, I went to the historic Stentorian Center, one of the first integrated firehouses in the LA County. Located in the heart of gang activity, this historic site is now P.C.I.T.I. (The Professional Community Intervention Training Institute) headquarters. Very briefly, P.C.I.T.I. is an organization of peacekeepers with practitioner driven community based gang outreach intervention. Some of their programs and services focus on community restoration and violence prevention by being on the streets and counseling gang members. (pciti.net)

Many gangs surround USC. Too many to give a precise number. Gangs operate on 5 Rs: Respect, Revenge, Retribution, Retaliation, and Rewrite. Lots of violence occurs with gangs because someone, somewhere disrespected a gang member. If they feel they have been disrespected in any way, this disrespect must be answered. But, it’s not always about violence in gangs. Many of the gangs around USC have respect for the university and its students. What some don’t know is that they look up to students because of dreams they couldn’t achieve. Dreaming of what it’d be like to attend and play sports for USC. These dreams often become shattered when they face the limited options of their communities.      

Many people have the misconception that the only way out of a gang is to be killed. They believe a teardrop or two tattooed next to their eye means they’ve killed someone. It can mean they’ve killed someone but usually it means they’ve done time. One teardrop for state prison and two teardrops for federal prison. After talking to former gang members, I’ve learned that getting killed is not the only way out. Eventually, one can gain respect within the gang and not gang bang anymore or be active in the gang. They simply remove themselves because they want to make a change in the community and provide more solutions for youth to stay out of the streets.

It was a great experience to hear these kinds of stories from former gang members, and how they decided to turn their lives around and become 24/7 interventionists. Aquil Basheer, a former member of the Black Panther party and founder of P.C.I.T.I., is doing an incredible job providing support in gang saturated communities around the world. He’s doing this by training over 10,500 professional Intervention peacekeepers, public safety experts, social health advocates, victim service specialists, and mental health authorities. Many people are working to fight the gang “epidemic” but it’s disappointing that we never hear about this kind of work being done.

Substance Use Among Gang Youth Annotation

Sanders, Bill, Stephen E. Lankenau, and Jennifer Jackson-Bloom. “Putting in Work: Qualitative    Research on Substance Use and Other Risk Behaviors Among Gang Youth in Los     Angeles.” Substance Use & Misuse 45.5 (2010): 736-53. Taylor & Francis Online. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

The focus of the article is to discuss how substance use among gang youth is more likely to occur among this group than their nongang peers. It contextualizes the interrelationship between substance use, violence, and unsafe sexual behaviors. The article provides qualitative research from a small sample of gang youth (n = 60) between the ages of 16 to 25 from various areas in Los Angeles. The research was accessed through in-depth interviews during a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded pilot study on substance abuse and other risk behaviors. The authors decided to name their study “Putting in Work” as an expression not only used by gang members in Los Angeles to describe committing criminal activity but to describe the efforts of being involved with the gang-identified youth for research purposes. The article would be useful for a paper focused on substance use among gang youth in various areas of Los Angeles and how this group is more affected than their nongang peers.