Gangs, Bullies and Violent Crimes is part of the Making Choices And Facing Consequences series. 

It is a crime prevention program designed specifically for distressed communities with a youth

crime problem.  It is designed to:

 

(1)      promote the development of personal self-management skills through

          decision making exercises that allow young adults to examine real life

          situations and consider the choices and consequences presented by each

          situation;

 

(2)      teach young adults what constitutes unlawful and risky behavior and how

          to avoid dangerous and unsafe situations; and

 

(3)      promote responsible citizenship and  appropriate behavior standards.

 

Character training is delivered through a set of real life stories about children and young adults.  The characters in the stories come from the same type of neighborhoods, share similar backgrounds, and face the same type of problems, pressures and temptations as the young adults we are trying to reach.  Some of the stories involve difficult children trying to cope with bad environments and some involve “good” children who made bad choices and then had to face the consequences of those choices.

 

The stories revolve around gangs, bullies and violent crimes.  Each story builds to a point of importance and then presents the character(s) with one or more critical choices.  Good choices have good consequences.  Bad choices have bad consequences.  The choices have urgency and meaning for the young adults who face many of the same choices on a daily basis.  The beauty of the program is the power of the stories, the way they are told, the way they engage the young adults, and the teaching opportunities they present.  Many of the stories are based on real life situations.

 

The stories are appropriate for a variety of groups and one-on-one teaching situations.  They can be utilized at home, school, church or in community centers.  The parents, teacher or mentor should decide on the most appropriate way to present each story to their particular audience.

 

Working through these real life situations will improve the young adult’s decision making skills.  It will also help develop a what-are-my-choices, what-are-my- consequences approach to decision making.  Hopefully, young adults will apply these critical thinking skills when they confront these same issues in their lives.