OVER 400 PEOPLE ATTENDED SUMMIT ON

 YOUTH VIOLENCE AND GANGS

Summit hosted by Spano and DiFiore was for law enforcement, educators

 and others who work with youth

With youth violence a growing problem in the United States and in Westchester, more than 400 people attended the Summit on Youth Violence and Gangs Tuesday, April 4 at the Westchester County Center. 

The all-day summit was a collaborative effort of County Executive Andy Spano and District Attorney Janet DiFiore. It was designed to give law enforcement, educators and others who work with youth the tools to understand and deal with the increase in youth violence. Attendees shared strategies and heard from national and local experts. The event, planned by the county’s Youth Bureau,  builds on programs already run by the bureau and the departments of Probations, Correction and Public Safety, as well as the District Attorney’s Office.  

“We have received an overwhelming response to this event from people who work with youth, indicative of how they perceive this to be a significant problem here in Westchester,” Spano said. “We know we -- along with the rest of the country -- have a problem of teen violence, including bullying, gangs and gang-like activities. Our approach is aimed at both prevention and enforcement.” 

DiFiore said, “As evidenced by recent events throughout the county, gang activity and its consequences remain a constant concern. This summit should prove invaluable in equipping law enforcement, educators and other social service professionals to the reality of gang activity in this county as well as early warning signs of gang involvement and the reasons that such involvement becomes attractive to young adults.” 

Speakers at the Summit provided local data and presented prevention and intervention strategies. Workshops provided participants with ideas that can be used with parents, teens, and professional colleagues to address these issues. Included will be information on multi-community ethnic gangs and school district- specific groups, cliques, and local groups of national gangs.   

The keynote address was delivered by Greg Owens, a licensed social worker, who is with the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Development of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. He gave a statewide perspective on the problem of gangs.  

Workshops (and the main speakers) included: 

Gangs 102: A Look at National Gang Trends (Criminal Investigator Andrew Grascia of the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, a certified gang expert by the New York State Supreme Court) 

Keeping the Faith: The Role of Faith-Based Initiatives and Organizations (Oscar Contreras, a former gang member who is now director of Street Intervention/Youth Outreach for Catholic Charities in Chicago) 

Bullying Prevention: What We Can Do in Our Schools (Andrea Fallick, assistant director for school-based programs, Student Assistance Services,  and a certified Olweus bullying prevention trainer ) 

Criminal Mind and the Gangster (Dr. Todd Negola, director of forensic psychological research for the National Gang Crime Research Center and chief of psychological services at the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pa; and Chriscelyn Tussey, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, who has conducted research on juvenile psychopathy.

Gang Prevention in Your Community (Ron “Cook” Barrett, the gang prevention specialist in the Albany area) 

Latino Gangs: A Look Inside One of the Fastest Growing Groups Inside the United States  (Edwin L. Santana, a graffiti specialist and veteran of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Corrections and co-founder of G-STEP—Gang Suppression Through Educational Programs) 

Power of Peace (Michael Arterberry, youth development director of The Guidance Center in New Rochelle)

Girls, Gangs and Crime (Criminal Investigator Andrew Grascia of  the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, a certified gang expert by the New York State Supreme Court; and Lianne Archer, a social worker in the New Rochelle school district) 

Understanding Graffiti (Edwin L. Santana, a graffiti specialist and veteran of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Corrections and co-founder of G-STEP—Gang Suppression Through Educational Programs) 

Project PHOENIX (Dominick Cicala and Allen Mitchell, both gang prevention specialists with  the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission) 

Tactical Interviewing (Dr. Todd Negola, director of forensic psychological research for the National Gang Crime Research Center and chief of psychological services at the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pa; and Chriscelyn Tussey, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, who has conducted research on juvenile psychopathy) 

Model Programs: Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle (panel discussion, various participants)

Other speakers and panelists include: 

Marlene Furtick, executive director of the Westchester County Youth Bureau 

Freda Macon, assistant director of CLUSTER Community Services 

Jim Bostic, a former NBA basketball player who is executive director of the Nepperhan Community Center and the host of its Teen Talk cable TV show Daniella Jackson, grants administrator for the City of Mount Vernon and co-chair of the Mount Vernon Community That Cares coalition and a board member of the county’s African American Advisory Board 

Ellen Garcia, project director of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative in Mount Vernon

Dr. Katherine Roberts, executive director of Interactive Health, and one of the curriculum developers for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s GREAT  -- Gang Resistance Education and Training program 

Ron McGregor, supervisor probation officer of the county Department of Probation’s Gang- Related Intervention Program unit, based in Mount Vernon Luther Garrison, a probation officer with the county Department of Probation’s Gang Related Intervention Program Susanne Doll, a program director of Westchester Jewish Community Services Linkages Program in New Rochelle Tomia Wooten, coordinator of Project Focus in New Rochelle of Student Assistance Services.