Reflections on Youth in Gangs: Beyond the Headlines
November 12, 2010
Speakers at Youth in Gangs: Beyond the Headlines
By: Tristan Walsh, CfJJ Intern
Last week, Citizens for Juvenile Justice hosted a forum at the Boston Bar Association about youth in gangs in Massachusetts. People from the community and many parts of the juvenile justice system joined in a discussion with a panel consisting of an academic researcher, service providers, and four former gang members.
For me, the forum was an eye-opening experience. Everything I knew before about gangs came from news stories, tv, and other media. Among other things, I believed gangs had grown dramatically in recent years and were inextricably linked with the drug trade.
I learned that gangs have been a fixture of urban life for a long time and were once thought to be a natural part of adolescence. Additionally, I learned that gangs in Boston today are not primarily affiliated with drug trafficking in the city. While there is some crossover between gang membership and those involved in the drug trade, it is incidental; generally, the gangs are not organized around it, and it is not what draws in new members.
Instead, the young men at the forum talked about the camaraderie of gang life and the sense of belonging that drew them in. They all spoke of family problems and absentee parents that helped to push them out of the home and into their respective gangs. I came away with the realization that, for the most part, these gangs were comprised of children just looking for a substitute for the family they were lacking at home. It was a stark contrast to the image of gang-involved youths as hardened criminals that is pushed by the news media. Hearing the stories of these young men allowed me to see the real story behind the headlines about gangs in Massachusetts.
CfJJ: Juvenile Justice News 
Because gang presents such an ambiguity, youth offenders who commit nonviolent crime and suspect to be gang affiliated tend to serve harsher punishment than normal. Historically, gang members tend to come from the lower socio-economic strata and same ethnic and/or race background. Therefore, youths feel that they have an obligation to help, understand, and support each other. Family has been considered as a major risk factor that increases the probability for someone to join gang.
I feel that once someone knows a kid is a gang affiliated, the stigma is huge and seems criminal. I’m glad to see that many of you understand that even a kid is gang affiliated, that does not automatically make that kid criminal and rejected
One of the biggest challenges faced our society is how to respond to gang problem effectively. Because gang is multifaceted, we would not be able to come up with a single way to respond to the problem. We tend to respond to a problem according to our traditional way of responding. It is important to focus on how agencies have been responding and receiving best outcomes.