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Young people and gangs: Developing an understanding of gangs and how youth work might respond effectively

Putting the Go back into Gospel!

It’s an interesting and odd time for me to be writing this session. It’s early August and we’ve just had 4 nights of rioting in various places across England. In Birmingham, where I live and work, three Muslim men were killed when they were deliberately run down by a car last night as they stood with others outside their local shops to try and prevent vandalism and looting. Were they vigilantes, or concerned citizens, or men of faith trying to bring peace like Street Pastors? I don’t know. What I do know is that two of them were friends of the guy who works at the front desk of the building I work in.

Some are explaining the unrest as the inevitable result of our society’s structures – social inequalities, cuts in spending, bailed-out bankers, rising prices and inadequate policing. Is this the root cause? I don’t know. What I do know is that two of the police officers out there trying to respond to the anger and aggression on both sides are people I know (one from school, the other was a youth work colleague), people motivated by a desire to help and do good for others.

Others emphasise the criminality of the behaviour, the poor moral character of those involved and explain it all as personal choices. But why then did a local issue spread so easily? I don’t know. What I do know is that some of my friends and family are living and working in the communities that have been appearing on TV and some have been on the frontline of the clean-up crews.

One of the aspects of all this that I’m finding most interesting – and sometimes disturbing – is the responses and comments I’m seeing posted on Facebook by Christians. Some are wry – “I think it’s safe to say that the ‘big society’ hasn’t been as successful as Mr. Cameron was hoping for” and “I am most disturbed by the spelling in vandalism… Far too much graffiti seems to think that the UK is governed by a central African nation rather than by a man with an over-sized forehead. One ‘O’ people. Cameron not Cameroon.” Others are angry – making statements about rioters “rotting in hell” or posting petitions such as “Convicted London rioters should lose all benefits”. Some are active encouragements and invitations to get involved in the clear up. Not many are loving.

It feels personal, probably because for many of us it is personal, impacting those we care about. Even two or three steps removed as I am, I am seeing and feeling the ripples. Emotions are, unsurprisingly, running high, opinions are strong.

I am struggling for understanding, for insight. I listen to people’s views, I read news and blogs online, I hear reports on the radio and I feel none the wiser. My brain can’t explain it. I haven’t got a cohesive theory about the causes, the process and the right response. I spent some time praying today that God would give me his perspective, his insight. All I felt was sadness. For all those who have suffered; for the loss of work, homes and lives; for desperation; for all the finger pointing; for recklessly made choices with lifelong impact: maybe that was my answer.

Writing in the hope that the riots are long over as you read this, please consider how you can work with and for young people in your area to avoid future frustration and violence.

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In the beginning…An introduction to this theme

REFLECTION: What’s your favourite way of spending time with a group of friends? Who, where, what time of day, doing what?

In my dictionary, the word “gang” is defined as:1a a band of persons acting or going about together1b (colloquial) such a band pursuing a purpose causing disapproval2 a set of workers, slaves or prisoners

If you gave practically any answer to the reflection question, your group activity could qualify you as a gang. Depending on your job, you might also feel you qualify as being part of a group of slaves or prisoners! Ever caused disapproval? You’re in! However, we tend to think of gangs as being groups of young people who are involved in anti-social behaviour, crime or both. So, within that understanding, what’s going on?

ACTIVITY: Watch one of the films listed in “AOB”. Think about the choices and behaviour of the different characters. What were the different factors that influenced their decision-making and actions? Put the different factors you’ve identified in order of priority.

Dave Wiles did some research amongst Christian youth workers (see “AOB”) to identify the issues faced by young people in gangs and to find out how youth work can respond. He found that they key issues mentioned by participants were: Unemployment Poor educational achievement Sexual health and drug use/misuse Identity and peer pressure Gun crimes and violence

In February 2011, Brooke Kinsella published a report reviewing crime-reduction projects working with young people. As part of her research, she asked a variety of people, including offenders and youth workers, why young people get into crime and received the following responses: Poverty/for the financial benefits Lack of education A perceived lack of opportunities/facilities Pressure to join “well-established” and “organised” gangs Lack of suitable role models Lack of understanding about disabilities such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Lack of respect for themselves and others

To me, these lists look remarkably similar. How do they compare to your own list? This suggests that young people’s experience of life is a key influence in their affiliation to gangs.

ACTIVITY: Look at the list below and think about the young people you work with or know. How would you rate their experiences in each of these areas? Give marks out of 10, with 10 being absolutely ideal and 0 being the worst possible. Material well-being Health and safety Education Peer and family relationships Behaviours and risks (e.g. diet, exercise, use of alcohol, sexual activity, experience of violence) Their own subjective sense of well-being Which area scored most highly? Which was lowest? Why do you think that is?

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In 2007 UNICEF published a report called “Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries” (see “AOB”). The report opened with the statement: “The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born.”

The researchers assessed how well 21 countries were fulfilling this statement, then ranked those 21 countries from best to worst in each of the 6 categories you just gave points for and they worked out each country’s average rank. The UK scored worse than every other country in 3 of the 6 categories and came bottom overall. Young people in the UK had the worst experience of relationships with family and friends, the least healthy relationship with alcohol and sex, and generally feel worse than those in any other wealthy country. You can see the chart below:

Perhaps if our young people are engaging in anti-social behaviour, it is because we are raising them in a cultural context which deals with them in an unhealthy and anti-social way.

Thinking it through Some theory

ACTIVITY: List the top 5 human needs for survival. Now list the top 5 needs for fullness of life. What did you prioritise? What would you have included if you were allowed more than 5? Do your lists reflect your experiences? Your values? If so, how? If not, how did you decide what to include?

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Fuzz Kitto, Australian youth worker, writer and consultant, says that human beings have four essential needs or “life searches” – identity, community, meaning and hope – and that our pursuit of these things is what drives our behaviour and choices.

CommunityI will always be a Nick Hornby fan, if only for the film “Fever Pitch” and specifically for the following quote. The main character, Paul, is a man in his thirties and a huge Arsenal fan. He is fed up with his enthusiasm leading people to regard him as immature, emotionally stunted and generally not-a-proper-grown-up. He responds with these words:

“It’s not easy to become a football fan. It takes years. But if you put in the hours, you’re welcomed without question into a new family. Except in this family, you care about the same people and hope for the same things. What’s childish about that?”

Right at the very beginning of our faith story, we read that God makes the pronouncement, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Growing up in church I too often heard teaching that told me that God was all I needed to the point of suggesting that any sense of needing others was wrong and that human relationships were merely a distraction and poor substitute for the “real thing”. That’s not what I read here. In a world that was perfect, in a context of perfect union between Creator and created, God declared that there was a better way – that we need communion with others.

We all need a sense of belonging: to know and be known, to love and be loved, to find our “fit”. If you’ve ever seen “Who do you think you are?” on TV, or chatted to someone who was adopted or fostered, you’ve probably seen evidence the impact of the discovery (or lack) of roots, history and connectedness. We form ourselves into units, usually families, to care for one another interdependently. If we have an understanding that we are children of God, we are also able to recognise ourselves as members of the family of God. Being connected to our creator helps us to find our fit in the story of the world.

As the Nick Hornby quote above suggests, however, human experience can fall far short of this ideal. Many people don’t know their creator and don’t know acceptance from those around them. Even in the best family environment, the teenage years are often a time when people feel that their concerns and hopes differ wildly from those of their closest relatives, particularly parents. Peers can provide that much needed sense of community and shared values.

One of the most visible expressions of their togetherness, which is particularly noted by others, is groups of young people hanging around together. Individuals who walk past them or park their cars near them often describe feeling nervous or threatened. However, the reality is often far less sinister. Research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (“Parenting and children’s resilience in disadvantaged communities” – see AOB) found that often the young people are using the principle of “safety in numbers”:

“A key message from the research was the positive role of the peer group as a means by which young people kept safe, for example, going to risky places in groups and using mobile phones to check all was well or to offer support. This positive role was often overlooked by parents. Friends helped provide knowledge of risks and safety, support and reciprocal monitoring, though there was a danger that moving in groups (for safety) was interpreted as threatening by adults or other children.”

Whether young people are together at band practice, football training, in the park, in an alleyway, at each other’s homes or online, their needs are being met through the provision of companionship, understanding, information-sharing and fun. However, the peer group is not a fail-safe. Not everyone finds a welcoming community. This need runs so deep that, when people struggle to find a sense of belonging, the longing to be known and to connect can result in them faking it, compromising their own values and wishes, or reinventing themselves, seeking acceptance at any price. They may be in unhealthy relationships, or “getting in with the wrong

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crowd”, but at least they’re in a crowd. Reflecting on his attempts to belong as a young man, Dave Wiles writes:

“Patterns of behaviour are also adopted to confirm “membership” of a certain group. Despite my own deep-down misgivings, I found myself engaged in racist and fascist violence as a skinhead; I got wasted on alcohol when driving motorbikes as a “Devil’s Disciple”; and I took all the mandatory, non-prescribed drugs as a hippie.” (From “Stories from the Edge”, page 97)

Whichever definition of gangs you go with, whether young people are just hanging out or “behaving badly”, the need for community is firmly in the mix.

IdentityHaving always been a soul-searcher, I wasn’t sure if the hours I spent in introspection were more about my character than the general nature of human beings – until I spent four years mentoring gap year workers. The questions of “who am I?”, “what makes me who I am?” and “how do I see the world?” recurred across a range of ages, personality types, life experiences and nationalities. We all need a sense of self, an understanding of our own core essence, an awareness of the boundaries of where I end and others begin and the knowledge of our distinctiveness.

ACTIVITY: Write down 10-20 true responses to the question “who are you?” OR create a piece of artwork responding to the title “this is me”.

How did you respond? Did you focus on… Relationships – e.g. daughter, father, friend, married? Attributes – e.g. Welsh, female, 36 years old, black? Personality traits – e.g. friendly, honest, reliable, quick-tempered? Things you do – e.g. teacher, lawyer, youth leader, swimmer, cooking, reading? Things you have – e.g. homeowner, biker, Mac or PC?

There is a multitude of different ways of defining our identity and understanding who we are. It doesn’t really matter how we approach it, the need is the same. Without a sense of self it is impossible to have integrity or to know how to care for our inner selves properly. Fuzz Kitto described salvation as “stepping into the space created for you” and said that we discover the nature of our own humanity through growing close to perfect humanity, encountered in Jesus. It makes sense that, if we are created to be God’s children, we need to be living in that relationship to have a truthful sense of who we are.

We don’t just find affirmation of our identity in God, but also in those around us. Being around those who are similar to us is another sort of “safety in numbers”. It is uncomfortable, frightening or isolating to be the odd one out, to be the lone voice expressing a particular view, to be the only one who has or hasn’t experienced something. In contrast, being with others who share our worldview, life experiences or values is comforting, it gives us a sense that we are ok – valid.

In my last job, my boss had been married to his wife for 12 years, during which time they had chosen not to have children. I was very surprised the day that he told us that they were expecting a baby, but I also realised that I was quite upset by the news. After some prayerful reflection I realised that everyone else on the staff had done the conventional marriage-and-children thing. I felt ok to be different while he was making an unusual choice, but once our boss decided to start a family, I was the odd one out. I wasn’t even aware that I had been affirmed and validated by his lifestyle until it disappeared.

ACTIVITY: Make a list of the 3 or 4 people you most enjoy spending time with. What similarities do you share with them? Which people in your life are you least comfortable with? Why?

Max Lucado has written a story about a community of wooden people called Wemmicks who had

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all been carved by the same wood carver, Eli. Each day the Wemmicks occupied themselves sticking stickers to one another – gold stars were awarded for good looks and talent, grey dots for chipped paint, clumsiness and general lack of perfection. The main character in the story is Punchinello, a Wemmick with a lot of grey dots:

“He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots. Sometimes when he fell it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots. After a while, he had so many dots that he didn’t want to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb, such as forget his hat or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many grey dots that some people would come up and give him one without reason. ‘He deserves lots of dots’, the wooden people would agree with one another. ‘He is not a good wooden person.’ After a while, Punchinello believed them. ‘I’m not a good Wemmick’, he would say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had lots of dots. He felt better around them.”

People do the same. They hang around with those who make them feel normal, so it shouldn’t be surprising that young people who have marginalised views or experiences will often band together for validation and reassurance. And if those people have become demoralised and given up trying to acquire stars or even to avoid the dots, their pastimes or endeavours may not look like anything worthwhile to others.

MeaningPeople want their lives to have value and to count by being able to make a difference. They want life to have a sense of purpose and a framework for understanding where they are, where they want to be and how they intend to get from one to the other. As the writer of Ecclesiastes put it, “He has set eternity in the human heart” (3:11, NIV): God has created us with a need for our lives to have meant something. We are part of the eternal story of God’s world and his people. We not only have a place in the story but also a role in progressing that story – fulfilling God’s purposes and growing God’s Kingdom.

In a world that does not know or recognise God, there is no ultimate authority, no ultimate truth. No truth means no purpose. Life lacks meaning. Ecclesiastes expresses this too:

“But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do – busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time – but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it – eat, drink and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.”(Ecclesiastes 3: 9-13, The Message)

Who I am and what I do is of little consequence, so I’ll just try to have fun. What else would I do?

REFLECTION: How might this human search for meaning help us to understand young people’s involvement in gangs? Why not discuss this theme with some young people?

HopeFuzz Kitto describes hope as A sense of stable and reliable future An ability to shape the future – the sense that “I am able to shape my environment and circumstances

rather than my situation having power over me” A sense of “living life to the full”, that life is holistic, not fragmented and compartmentalised

When we have the sense that we are powerless and cannot influence the outcomes for our own lives, when our experience is that life is stagnant or going in circles rather than feeling a sense of progression, when life is empty and insignificant, we are on the brink – if not in the grip – of despair.

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REFLECTION: When did you first feel that you were an adult? What were the key factors for you? If you don’t feel that you are an adult, why is that? What would need to change?

Something that I feel we are sadly lacking in British culture is any kind of rites of passage – experiences or ceremonies which make the passing from one stage of life to another. Leaving school may be one, but very few young people are then physically or economically independent. Even for those who go to university and have a graduation, many then face a return to the parental home or a prolonged residence in a student lifestyle as they try to launch their adult lives. For many of the young people I’ve worked with, life has plodded on year after year with very little discernable change in their power, rights or responsibilities.

I was exploring the idea of rites of passage with a group of youth workers, and asked them the question, “What is a man?”. Here are their answers: Responsibility Initiative Equipped to survive Able to forge own path Direction Independence (interdependence?) Sense of self Role model Acceptance of circumstances Honouring of others Vision for life Respected as he walks around the A rock – solid, dependable community

Each of these qualities is in some way linked to capability and influence, progression or significance. We seek our significance in what we can do and how we are regarded, in legacy and status, in fame and renown, in wealth and possessions, in achievements and recognition. There are many routes to becoming a person of status and reputation – academic brilliance, a highly-paid career, X Factor, crime, winning the lottery, even politics!

REFLECTION: Look back to “In the beginning…” at the different factors associated with gangs. How accessible is each of these routes to the young people in these circumstances?

People are driven by God-given needs, but do not always have the information, capacity or inclination to pursue them as God intended. Trapped in the lies our culture tells them, in misunderstandings, mistakes and disappointments, they are like fragile, yellow shoots of plants trapped in the darkness, desperately straining towards whatever light they find available.

Faithing the FactsSome theology

Frank Lake’s Dynamic Cycle, based on Jesus’ relationship with his father, challenges our culture’s assumption that our significance is about what we achieve. Rather than feeling that we need to achieve so that people accept us, which sustains us and keeps us going and finally earns us a sense of significance, Frank Lake says that we have to start with acceptance.

Jesus knew he was accepted and loved by his father and this relationship was what sustained him. His understanding of his significance, his status as God’s son and a member of the Trinity and his role in the Kingdom all stemmed from this strong,

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loving, healthy relationship. His sense of self and significance were the foundation for his actions – his teaching, his miracles and his perseverance.

REFLECTION: Looking back, a lot of the youth work I was involved in as a teenager flowed that pattern of achievement leading to acceptance, whether that achievement was punctuality, knowing where to find certain books in the bible, being good, helpful and quiet or having a talent. Be honest with yourself – does your youth work reward achievement with acceptance and status more than it just loves the socks off young people and enables them to bring their all to the group?

Story from the Edge

“Guys – do you mind being a bit quieter, my daughter is trying to get to sleep and it is 11.00?” This, I thought, was a reasonable request of the youngsters gathered outside of our house for their weekly session of Triple X and dope. “Why don’t you go and sing her a ****ing lullaby!” replied the lad sat on our garden wall. Having just left my 9-year-old daughter in tears because she couldn’t sleep – this was the wrong reply for me just at that moment! My mind spun back to my own turbulent adolescence: drugs, fights, image creation and turbulent hormones! I wish I could say that I had returned to these insights to reflect upon the perspective of my aggressive friend, however, it was more a consideration of whether or not I dare to decorate my garden with his face! Thankfully I managed to control my own temper and began again to try the appeal to the more humane side of his persona that I guessed was buried somewhere amidst the chemicals. I could at least appeal to an existing relationship with him and his friends, I often stopped to talk with them whether or not they were sober. Eventually they tired of baiting me and peace was restored.

In actual fact over the next few week things got a bit better, I wondered if my drip feed relationship building was working? Several weeks later I went out to the group with a small reward for the improved behaviour. “I know that you would prefer fags” I said, “but I thought these would be slightly better for you” as I handed a large bag of toffees to the gang leader, “Thanks for being so quiet of late”. I wished I had a camera! To see a group of 17-year-olds sat on their motorbikes; barely concealing a pleasure that they were not sure they wanted to express was a wonderful experience for me. “Cheers mate” was the stammered reply. I walked into home realising how different things might have been had my own temper got the better of me a few weeks ago.

I was also left thinking about how our perspectives of young people so often determine the way they act towards us. I remembered a friend who worked in an inner City parish with local youngsters returning to the church where her husband was the vicar. They had been to the chippy on a cold winter’s night and were looking for somewhere to eat as they sheltered from the rain. My friend let them into the church and they gravitated to the only table that they could find – the big one at the front with the colourful tablecloth decorated with grapes and bread! As they shared their chips around the table in the hushed sombre atmosphere of the dying day my friend realised that the feelings she was experiencing were those she normally associated with taking communion. These moments spent in fellowship around the table were taking on a sacramental meaning, that is until the church warden barged in with a differing perspective – he saw the feast as sacrilegious and asked them to leave. I wonder what the young people thought of these differing perspectives? The stories raise a range of important questions for those of us who work with young people:

Why on earth do we do it!? How aware of our own motivation for being involved in youth work do we need to be? How do our own generalisations about young people, or our own experience of growing up, affect they way that we respond and relate to young people now? Do you have an experience that illustrates the relationship between adult attitudes and young people’s behaviours? What are the stereotypes and myths that youth workers, the church and other

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parts of society have about young people? How do these affect relationships between older and younger people? What is the youth work role in terms of responding to stereotypes?

Dave Wiles (Frontier Youth Trust)

Don’t just stand there… Ideas for action – methods, tools, approaches to engage with young people – based on the session subject/content

“Youth workers have the ability to meet young people where they are, emotionally and socially, through a number of methodologies and some workers are committed to building relationships over a long period of time. Many youth workers do not represent statutory bodies, and although they need to be aware of legal issues, can be perceived as a less threatening form of authority in the lives and experience of young people in gangs. Therefore they are often able to discuss issues with young people in a more relaxed and candid manner. Current practice and ideas shared by participants suggest that the following roles that youth workers might adopt and which may be of significance in working with young people in gangs”:

Diversionary activities – something legitimate but different, and which responds to the young persons’ need to ‘let off steam’. Camps and weekends away are often very effective examples, as are dance, art, music or media projects, skating and other sports.

Preventative and educational work - Working with those young people who are thinking about gang membership to increase awareness about the associated risks and dangers and seeking to reduce harm

Relationships – building intentional, non-judgemental, caring and supportive relationships with young people in or on the edge of gangs. “One respondent said that things like friendship, acceptance and love could redress the balance of life and create a better purpose for life for gang members. Whilst not wanting to understate the grief and pain that gangs can cause to others, many of the workers wanted to emphasise the damaged sense of self-worth that gang members can have about themselves and underlined the importance of responding to their need for an inner sense of worth.”

Mediation – In recognising that gangs can be misunderstood and are subjected to a number of stereotypical attitudes a youth worker may be well placed to enable understanding between differing groups in a community or wider society. This kind of mediation may be between adults and young people, professionals and community groups or indeed between differing groups of young people. Restorative justice programmes often involve mediation between an offender and their victim.

(Taken from Dave Wiles “Working with Gangs”)

ACTIVITY: Look up Brooke Kinsella’s report (see “AOB”) and look at the descriptions of the projects she visited (Original Projects and Ideas on page 18 and Annex B on page 34). Which of the categories above does each of these projects fit in to? Do they respond to the issues faced by gang members identified by Dave Wiles’ and Brooke Kinsella’s research? Do they provide for the 4 needs community, identity, meaning and hope? Which do you think might work best in your context?

ACTIVITY: Do something for the girls. Although gangs typically seem “male”, Brooke Kinsella’s report noted that girls get involved in various aspects of gang culture – carrying weapons or drugs or being used as sexual and “passed around” the members of the gang – and she found that there are a relatively small number of projects working with girls to help them avoid and escape these situations.

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ACTIVITY: Challenge the stereotypes! Affirm the contribution that young people make to your community by holding an awards ceremony, with awards for bravery, persistence, service to others, creativity, etc. Send out press releases or invite the local media to come to the event. Ask local businesses to sponsor awards.

ACTIVITY: A project in Cardiff – “Goodies in Hoodies” (http://www.truthaboutyouth.org/?p=71) – not only encourages young people to volunteer in the local community, but also “credits” those who do. Their credits can then be exchanged for training and personal development opportunities. Similar ideas include matching young people with adults to do a skills exchange (e.g. a cooking lesson for a lesson in how to use iplayer) and “each one teach one” where different members of the community think of something they can pass on to others and share skills and knowledge around. Building relationships, skills and self-esteem and reducing prejudice and stereotypes in one move!

ACTIVITY: Dave’s research found that detached work was the main methodology mentioned for working with gangs. Look at the Moving Out session at detached work and consider how it could work/what would be difficult in your area.

ACTIVITY: Get in contact with your most local group of Street Pastors (www.streetpastors.co.uk) and arrange to accompany them as a visitor one night. Experience first-hand how they engage with young people and adults who are distressed, drunk, aggressive and vulnerable. Find out from them why they got involved in Street Pastoring and what their experiences have been like.

ACTIVITY: Volunteer in a local mentoring or tutoring programme.

Just when you thought it was all over…

ACTIVITY: Do a bit of testimony research. Get hold of a copy of The Cross and the Switchblade or Run, Baby, Run (see “AOB”), have a look at this clip (Gavin McKenna, Ex-Gang Member: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsrknGHRl24&feature=player_embedded), search online or ask around. What has helped gang members come to know God and find transformation?

AOBContacts, resources, links that relate to the session subject/contentTraining:

Christian Youth Work Training – www.cywt.org.uk provides information about Christian youth work training in the UK. The site is now run by David Howell, a freelance consultant in the fields of training, Further Education, Higher Education and Christian youth work.

Frontier Youth Trust - www.fyt.org.uk Please contact if we can help you to look a little deeper at this theme or other youth work related topics.

Some Web Based Resources:

FYT website, Dave Wiles’ research “Working with Gangs”: www.fyt.org.uk/showdetails,pdf,57.htm Joseph Rowntree Foundation: “Parenting and children’s resilience in disadvantaged communities” by

Peter Seaman, Katrina Turner, Malcolm Hill, Anne Stafford and Moira Walker. Published February 2006. www.jrf.org.uk/publications/parenting-and-childrens-resilience-disadvantaged-communities

Brooke Kinsella’s report, “Tackling Knife Crime Together – A review of local anti-knife crime projects”:

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www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/tackling-knife-crime-together/tackling-knife-crime-report

UNICEF report, “Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries”: www.unicef.org/media/files/ChildPovertyReport.pdf

God and the Gangs, Beckford (2008)

Street Smart , Robinson/Greenough (2009)

Resources:

Man Made – a Rites of Passage course for teenage guys, by Share Jesus International, available from: www.sharejesusinternational.com/resources/manmade/

Max Lucado’s Wemmick story – available at www.lollie.com/thinkagain.html

Films: Dangerous Minds (1995), based on the autobiography of LouAnne Johnson “My Posse Don’t Do

Homework”. The Freedom Writers (2007), based on the book “The Freedom Writers Diary” by Erin Gruwell and

students from Woodrow Wilson High School. Sleepers (1996), based on the book “Sleepers: A True Story, When Friendship Runs Deeper than Blood”

by Lorenzo Carcaterra. Boyz n the Hood (1991) This is England (2006)

Articles: 'Jesus Loves ASBO Kids' by Richard James, Youthwork Magazine, July 2008

Recommended books: 'Stories from the Edge' by Dave Wiles. Includes chapters exploring offending behaviour, violence,

drugs and gangs with examples of good practice and helpful reflection questions. 'God and the Gangs' by Robert Beckford. An urban toolkit for those who are seeking to find

appropriate ways to respond to issues of violent crime and gangs and the pastoral needs that arise from them. Provides theological tools for an understanding of the rise of disaffection among black urban youth and offers a clear analysis of the cultural and political factors at work.

'The Cross and the Switchblade' by David Wilkerson. Written in 1963, it tells the true story of Wilkerson’s first five years in New York City, where he ministered to disillusioned young people, encouraging them to turn away from the drugs and gang violence they were involved with.

'Run Baby Run', the autobiography of Nicky Cruz, one of the gang leaders who encountered David Wilkerson, and was transformed by God.

Amen CornerOver the years I’ve worked with young people, I have swung the hope-despair pendulum more times than I care to remember. The ugliness of human experience has broken my heart over and over as I have walked with others through landscapes of rejection, neglect, rape, abuse, incest, cruelty, violence, self-harm, loneliness, manipulation, fear, endangered lives, conflict, drug and alcohol abuse, misery, anger and self-loathing.

I’ve seen the precious uniqueness of each one. I have seen healing and redemption – but not as much as I’d like. Sometimes I wonder what on earth I’m doing. I got to know The Script’s song “Walk away” a few months ago, and some of the lyrics really resonated with my questions:

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She’s standing in the heart of darkness Saying “I know you’ve got a soul even though you’re heartless”

How could any woman in her right mind be so blind To find something to save, instead of walking?

With me, she should have walked away

She finds colour in the darkest places She finds beauty in the saddest of faces For such a clued in, headstrong city girl

Could have had the world – but she’s fallen in love in the worst way And if you don’t go now then you’ll stay

Cos I’ll never let you leave, never let you breathe Cos if you’re looking for heaven, baby it sure as hell ain’t me

So walk away,

Save yourself from the heartache, Go now before it’s too late

But still she stays

As painful as it gets, as futile as it sometimes seems, waking away is just not an option – partly because Jesus would never do it and partly because those times when I know most clearly that I’ve “fallen in love in the worst way” are when I know most clearly what it’s like to be God.

Years back, when I was wrestling with this desire to walk away, I heard Matt Summerfield speaking. He told the story of a youth worker who was supporting a young person. It was hard and it seemed that nothing made any difference. She wondered when enough was enough. This was exactly my question. The answer she received cut straight through all my frustration and confusion:

“Debbie (which is my name too), enough is NEVER enough.”

I didn’t walk away. I go on looking for heaven among the darkest places and saddest faces. And I find it there, because that is where I’m called to be.

Whatever is costly in your ministry, hang in there. I offer you some words from Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, to ask God for the strength to help you remain.

My God,I am yours

For time and eternityTeach me to cast myself entirely into the arms of your loving providence,

With the most lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity.Grant me, O merciful redeemer, that whatever you ordain or permit may be acceptable to me.

Take from my heart all painful anxiety; let nothing sadden me but sin, let my delight be the hope of coming to the possession of you, my God and my all, in your everlasting Kingdom.

Amen