Gang Membership Within Young American Males Sophia Campos Social Psychology

Stakeholder: why are you here? School officials of Camden, New Jersey You can help make a difference!

Gang Membership 40 percent of gang members are under the age of 18 More than 33,000 active gangs across the United States Leaders scout young males between the ages of 12-18+ years coming from rough and poverty- stricken neighborhoods Young males engage in gang membership do so to find a sense of belonging, brotherhood, excitement, protection, etc. Gangs are known to bring in drugs, cause property damage Luring children out of school, homes introducing them to violence

Social Psychological Theory Social Identity Through social identity we find common interest forming groups and affiliate our self with them to gain confidence in regard to self. (Myers 260) Myers, D. G. (2015). Exploring social psychology (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Social Psychological Research Gomez et al. 2011; Swann et al. 2009 What was studied? Studied how youth find pride security as well as identification through gangs What was the conclusion of this experiment? concluded that peoples personal and social identities become mixed and blurred “more willing to fight and die for their group” Myers, D. G. (2015). Exploring social psychology (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education

Proposed Solution Decreasing Gang Activity How? My solution: more after school programs Survey from Afterschool Alliance found that in 2014 “nationally the number of children who would be enrolled in an afterschool program if one were available has grown from 20% in the past decade”

So why Camden, New Jersey? Poverty rate of 42.5% One of the poorest cities in the United States 56.7% of children living in poverty 53.4% drop out rate before age 16 Through such programs with your help we can reduce gang membership as well as increase the graduation rates, school attendance and decrease crime within your community

Proposed Solution in Detail Needs assessment of Camden, New Jersey and the youth Finding the gaps between their current conditions and the desired conditions Evaluating data through surveys and observations Providing tutoring programs to better their grades

Proposed Solution in Detail continued How do we get the ball rolling? Advertisement Adverting through schools, flyers, mail, new reports, radio and through social media Provide a town hall meeting Invite guest speaker Carl Williams

Proposed Solution in Detail Continued Hiring of potential clients Proposed solution could open up job opportunities within this city How would the participates in this solution feel? They would be excited about this solution giving them new opportunities to engage with others in a safe, trusting environment

Potential Issues Issue could affect your decision to support my solution and you could potentially back out Could affect my proposed solution of wanting to provide programs for every level of schooling (elementary, middle and high school) If the issue occurs? providing high school students with programs in the evening and programs they are willing to take such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse as well as gang involvement this could potentially up the rates of school and program involvement I would argue that these young males are in much of a needs as the others