[Vision2020] SR: Gang Activity Part II

[Art Deco]

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  Monday, March 19, 2007 


Spokane
Violence becomes part of neighborhood life
Sara Leaming 
Staff writer
March 19, 2007

            Also: How to read gang graffiti

            Photos: More images with this story

            Audio: Spokane Police Officer Mike Roberge, a Gang Enforcement Team member, on gang culture, respect and gang members


            Graphic: Gang nations


            Graphic: Gang members in Spokane
           
     
In the alley where he died, a small shrine stands for Frank Joseph Silva: a fence littered with plastic flowers, teddy bears and empty beer bottles.


The memorial is a daily reminder for the residents in Spokane's West Central neighborhood of violence spawned from a growing gang population.


It's been nearly two years since 17-year-old Silva, whose street name among fellow Crips was Foota Loc, was shot point-blank in the forehead by Dustin Allen Davis, who police say is a member of a rival Crips gang.


Davis, who was 18 at the time, is serving a 41-year prison sentence for Silva's murder. While he's been in prison, the number of gang members in Spokane has grown by about 400, police say. And many of them are in West Central, an impoverished area rife with crime.


"Nothing has gone away. If anything, it's worse now," said Connie Copeland Malone, a West Central resident. "The work to be done here is huge."


Copeland Malone is part of a steering committee of West Central community leaders who - tired of escalating violence, problems with drugs and other crimes - have established a project aimed at helping at-risk youths in the neighborhood.



But a year after Project HOPE was formed, interest in the grass-roots effort appears to be waning. Community members who were initially involved said they've seen too many meetings and too little action toward the group's goal of helping teens avoid lives of crime. Active members, however, say they're making progress, and will soon have gym night once a week at a church to give kids a healthy outlet.


"We have not died; we want to move ahead wisely," Copeland Malone said. "We don't want to advertise something that may backfire."


Project HOPE was formed out of concern from nearby Holmes Elementary School, where officials saw children using gangs as a way to socialize.


They saw Silva being immortalized by kids a year after his death. Graffiti bearing his name was - and continues to be - painted across dilapidated garages and fences.


After the teen's funeral in April 2005, a group gathered in Cannon Park to play a rap song created for him, drink alcohol and smoke dope. They gathered for a picture so the moment could be relived. The picture now appears frequently on MySpace.com to memorialize their "fallen solda," who "put it up for his hood."


"I kept saying, 'This is a bad thing; this is a benchmark,' " said Gary Cooper, one of about a dozen resource officers in Spokane schools - security officers who have police training and work closely with law enforcement.


"Kids are living this whole life like they are soldiers in this gangster game, and they don't have the adults to push them out of it. It's very concerning."


At Holmes, soon after the funeral, students began flashing gang signs through the cyclone fence on the playground.


Some came to school wearing T-shirts that featured a photo of Silva's body in his casket. Someone had posed the body, forming his hands into a gang symbol.


"We thought, 'This is sick; this is awful,' " said Holmes Principal Steve Barnes. "We decided instead of being reactive, we wanted to be proactive."


Silva and Davis were once students at the school and known to many in the Holmes community.


"In this neighborhood, everyone is really interconnected," Barnes said.


But soon, the problems at the school subsided, and Holmes staff, once leaders in the anti-gang movement, are now observers. West Central leaders took over the effort, and a steering committee still meets once a month.


"We kind of stepped back because we realized it was way bigger than we were willing to be involved in and take on," Barnes said.


Copeland Malone said it's been hard to keep everyone involved, and success will require help from schools, police, businesses, churches and other community institutions.


Project HOPE examined anti-gang programs in other cities, established a mission statement and is one of 11 groups citywide sharing a $300,000 grant from Community Minded Enterprises, a nonprofit based in Spokane. The organization works with community groups to address health-care access, issues with disabilities, child care, jobs, gun violence and mental health.


To get started, Project HOPE expects to begin hosting an open gym this month in a West Central church one night a week for basketball and socializing. "God's gym" would serve as an umbrella for referrals to social service agencies and ministries, as well, Copeland Malone said. The group itself won't provide services, but can act as a clearinghouse.


Alvin Moreno, pastor of Victory Outreach, a Hillyard-based ministry involved with the West Central effort, said he can relate to the troubled teens because he was a gang member in California.


"There's a lot of people that really want help, starting with the young people. If nobody takes the time to work with them, they are going to continue doing what they are doing," Moreno said.




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