The real-life tragedies of drug abuse, prison and gang violence
are often lost on teens who see it glamorized through movies and
mass culture, or who dismiss the danger preached by those who have
no personal experience to back up their claims.
Hollister – The real-life tragedies of drug abuse, prison and gang violence are often lost on teens who see it glamorized through movies and mass culture, or who dismiss the danger preached by those who have no personal experience to back up their claims.
But a group of Hollister residents, who know all too well how a life can be stripped of happiness and opportunity by drugs or gangs, are working to help local teens steer clear of those vices by giving them a safe place to be kids.
Members of the New Harvest Ministry in Hollister recently began a Saturday night social event for youth ages 13 to 22, called “One Way,” in an attempt to keep them away from gangs and drugs.
Domingo Quistian, one of the organizers, offered the program as a solution to the burgeoning gang problem at a recent city gang task force meeting. He said if he had a place to go like One Way when he was growing up in Gilroy, it could have changed a life spent behind bars or wrestling with a drug addiction.
Quistian started getting into trouble as a teenager, he said. While he wasn’t ensconced in the gang life, he was a member of a “car club,” which consisted of a group of people who would get together, go cruising and party.
These clubs were a gateway to a life of violence and substance abuse, which led to his frequent visits to the county jail.
“A lot of times we think it’s easier to lock them up, but in reality it’s giving them more of an edge,” Quistian said. “You come up with more education of how the beat the system, more (criminal) connections. After a while, the fear of ending up in jail is gone… I used to call it my vacation home.”
Quistian joined the car clubs to feel accepted and have a good time. Before he realized his friends were leading him down a dangerous road, he was in and out of jail, addicted to drugs and unaware that there were better ways to live.
“I was 20 years old when I went to jail the first time, and I’d see all these older guys in their 40s talking about lighting up. I thought, they’re too old to be here,” he said. “One morning I woke up in jail and this youngster said, ‘How old are you? Aren’t you too old to be here?’ I was 42 and it flashed back to me and I said, I need to change my life.”
After joining the New Harvest Ministry, Quistian met up with several other church members who lived a similar lifestyle and now preach to the youth who attend the One Way event about the perils of that existence. Before a multitude of games and activities get underway every Saturday night, some of the church members who lived hard but turned things around late in life talk to the teens about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and gangs.
Although the One Way program is held at the church on Fourth Street in Hollister, anyone is welcome to attend and Quistian and his friends aren’t interested in trying to convert anyone in attendance. Teens can play pool, video games, listen to a DJ, mix their own CDs, hang out with friends and even win money through competitions based on television’s Fear Factor.
Filomeno Garza went to jail for the first time when he was 8 years old for sniffing gas in Texas, and bounced in and out of the system until about a year and a half ago, he said. The 52-year-old, who tried or was addicted to every kind of drug available, has 13 drunk driving arrests and spent much of his life plagued by deep depression, now speaks to young children about the myths of an illicit lifestyle or glamorous drug use touted by their peers or movies.
“They listen when I tell them this is what happens when you’re out there in the streets. I never had a place to go, all I knew was the street and jail,” Garza said. “I never knew there was church, games and people who cared. People who give you an opportunity to change your life. I don’t want any kid to go through that life. I want them to have a life like this – clean and sober.”
Elijah Gracia, 16, has spent several Saturday nights with the group since they started a few weeks ago. While his life hasn’t been consumed by drugs, alcohol or gangs, he voluntarily spends his Saturday nights with the One Way group so he can play the bass guitar in the One Way band, hang out with friends and have a good time, he said.
Gracia even won $100 in the Fear Factor competition, he said. The money was hard-earned, however, because the three night crawlers and a handful of beetles didn’t go down so smooth, he said.
“I might get into trouble if I wasn’t coming here. I like to be rebellious. If someone says not to do something, you want to do it,” Gracia said. “But the gang life isn’t appealing to me. It doesn’t prove anything. And here you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble. It’s just fun.”
Shawn Soto, 31, joined the group after he realized the years he spent drinking and smoking marijuana as a way to fit in was destroying not only his youth, but the rest of his life. While talking to the kids who attend the Saturday event, he said many say they drink with their friends because it’s cool and they want to fit in – which can lead to misguided decisions down the road.
He hopes if one teen goes home on a Saturday night with the realization that you don’t have to be bad to feel good, his life hasn’t been a waste.
“You don’t have to be a follower,” he said. “You can be a leader.”
One Way is open to anyone age 13-22, and is held at 372 Fourth Street in Hollister from 6pm to 9pm on Saturday. For more information call (831) 637-0643.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
