Proactive approach to gang prevention comes with coordinator
There isn’t one approach, one group or one person who can
curtail rising gang activity in San Benito County.
But there is an absolute need for collaboration, for someone to
take a step back and define the problem. For someone to direct the
effort forward by finding sensible, proactive solutions and
implementing them, starting at the core.
Proactive approach to gang prevention comes with coordinator
There isn’t one approach, one group or one person who can curtail rising gang activity in San Benito County.
But there is an absolute need for collaboration, for someone to take a step back and define the problem. For someone to direct the effort forward by finding sensible, proactive solutions and implementing them, starting at the core.
Agencies throughout San Benito County have taken the right step in launching and now filling the new gang prevention coordinator position. San Benito County, the City of Hollister, the county office of education and the Hollister School District saw the importance of launching this office, and their leaders should be lauded for the decision.
Al De Vos, whose experience is rooted in dealing with youths while working in the nonprofit sector for the past decade, recently started on the job.
De Vos will have a host of responsibilities on his shoulders, none greater than the goal of reducing gang violence. It appears he has the right attitude and approach – to spend three months learning all the local players, dissecting the problem and formulating a plan to make this a better community. If it sounds like a big challenge, that’s because it is.
The new gang prevention coordinator, however, understands it’s not his job alone.
It’s a good thing he initially comprehends one of the most important goals on his plate is working with local agencies and nonprofits involved with the gang issue, and finding the most efficient, fruitful collaboration that fits in line with De Vos’ broader strategies.
He also seems to recognize that the problem doesn’t start with a fight or an arrest. The problem starts in two places – at school and in the home. Preventing the corruptive mentality, educating kids while they’re young about the inevitable downfall of joining a gang, that they can find contentment by doing something positive, is the only way to ultimately win this battle.
For too long, and by default to a certain degree in recent years with lacking resources, leaders throughout the county have been far too reactive in addressing the gang problem. Hiring the coordinator is a big step toward stemming that tide.
Now it’s up to De Vos to find the right solutions, and it’s up to the entire community – leaders and parents – to help him get the job done right.
