On Tuesday, December 2nd, me and my group went to Uniondale New York to meet with Beria Camargo of Strong Youth. Strong Youth is an organization that helps high risk kids in need and gives them the encouragement and support they need to get bye in school. A guidance councilor was supposed to meet with us, but he could not attend, but nevertheless, we still learned a lot. We learned that there are two main reasons why people join gangs. One is because they need a place to belong. If you don’t have a parent figure in your life, I gang can become that person. The other reason is revenge. Lets say that a blood kills one of my friends. I might only be mad at the one person who killed my friend, but I will join the rival gang, the crips. She told us a story about this girl who had no friends at school. She told us how a gang went up to her and they started to hang out. The girl in the story rarely went home and her brother says that if you don’t come home tonight, I am never talking to you again. She still went to the party with her gang and while she was there, she stepped out side for a big, and it just so happened that there was a drive by. Her headphones were blasting and she couldn’t hear the gun shots and people yelling. When her friend was yelling at her to stand up, she couldn’t. She looked down and saw that blood was coming out. Paramedics couldn’t help her because it was still an active crime scene. She was paralyzed. If she stayed home that night, she would still be able to walk.
