A Better Los Angeles Initiative: The Pacific Institute works toward eradication of gang violence in California
The groundbreaking ABLA (A Better Los Angeles) project was set up in 2002 by leaders of the community from schools, law enforcement, social service agencies and faith- based agencies to work with disengaged young people with a prime objective of reducing gang violence in that community. ABLA is a non-profit consortium of agencies and organisations that believes gang violence can be eradicated by empowering change in individuals and communities.
Key to the activities of ABLA are the LA Sheriff's Department, the LA Department of Family Services and the Human Relations Commission. The project is actively supported by Lee Baca, Sheriff for LA. Pete Carroll, Current USC Football coach and former coach of the New York Jets, is also a founding member and key publicist for ABLA. Having assisted Carroll with cultural transformation at the Jets, Lou Tice of The Pacific Institute Seattle (TPI) went on to help Carroll and the other leaders in the establishment of ABLA and continues to offer consulting services.
The enormity of their task cannot be overstated. California has about 85,000 gang members and over 600 gang-related murders a year. Many millions are spent every year on prison custody for gang-based offenders.
Approximately 6000 employees in the Department of Family Services have participated in TPI programmes, and this has greatly improved morale and the working culture within the organisation. In the words of Xiomara Flores-Holguin, Supervising Children's Social Worker for LA Department of Family Services, they are now more committed than ever to their goal of "a healthy, non-violent world."
Staff within the Police are also experiencing TPI programmes. According to Ray Bercini of the LAPD's Safe Streets Bureau, since rolling out TPI programmes within the Police department and the department of Children's services, co-operation and information sharing between the two agencies had improved significantly. Gary Mann, a sheriff's deputy who is serving as president of ABLA, commented, "To change the culture we have to change our culture... Law enforcement has to realise these kids have potential... Maybe if we can change the way we talk to them we can help them realise dreams they don't even know they have."
The Family and Children's Services and the LAPD are now working together to facilitate the dissemination of TPI curriculum to the local community via the ABLA consortium. In the first phase of the project, between 2002 and 2004, nearly 500 people in the gang-affected communities participated in Pacific Institute programmes. The next stage of the project was to train young people to deliver the curriculum to other young people in their communities. The number of people reached by TPI's curriculum and ABLA in this way, now runs into the thousands.
In November 2005, representatives from ABLA travelled to the UK to meet with representatives from the police, youth services and other government organisations to exchange experiences and expertise, with a view to possible collaboration in the future.
