Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces $9.2 Million in Grants to Combat Gang Violence in California Communities

View the entire press release by clicking here

FCGPC_Update_9-28-09.pdf (340.03 kb)

FCGPC_August_Update.pdf (288.46 kb)

New Life Street Ministries' Ronnie Calderon led the effort to bring a live action drama performed by former gang members to illustrate the harsh realities of street life in a gang. The event featured former gang members from all over Fresno County coming together on stage to talk about their journey to ending a lifestyle of violence, drugs, and crime related to gangs. They were followed by former gang members from Los Angeles calling themselves Boyz in da Hood that performed the live action drama.

See a brief news clip below regarding the successful event.

The following is a digest of information from the 2009-2010 Fresno Mayor's Proposed Budget of items directly and indirectly related to gangs. As updates are learned they will be provided.

Mayor’s Gang Prevention Initiative: The Mayor's Gang Prevention Initiative (MGPI) will be reduced to one Community Coordinator funded by the General Fund, and two grant‐funded staff assistants. MGPI will become more reliant upon grant funding and will take advantage of existing service providers and community partnerships. MGPI will increase its focus on intervening in the lives of gang members, and will allow ongoing proactive prevention efforts to be addressed by Parks and Recreation and the Police Activities League. The following highlights statistical outcomes of the program.

• 548 referrals were made to the program in FY 2008‐2009 as the result of outreach community recruiting efforts.
• A total of 3,333 gang referrals have been received since the inception of the program on July 1, 2006.
• 205 participants completed the clinical assessment process in FY 2008‐2009.
• 747 participants are in various stages of their prescribed treatment plan, based on priority of need since February 2006. Upon completion of one service, a participant enters the next stage of prescribed services until the entire program is completed.
• A total of 222 validated gang members, 287 gang associates, and 486 “wanna‐be’s” are currently receiving services.

The Department is actively tracking arrest rates on all participants in the MGPI program on a weekly basis. The participants who are receiving services from the MGPI are showing progress in recidivism rates. According to the Fresno Police Department’s Crime Alert Notification program, the current recidivism rate for MGPI participants is 7.19 percent compared to 14.2 percent observed last year. Cost: $110,700

Community Leaders, Agencies, Educators, & Law Enforcement - have your voice heard!

With 220 gangs and over 19,000 members county wide, the gang population in Fresno County is anywhere from 2 – 6%. Gangs are responsible for as much as 33% of homicides and 70% of aggravated assaults - the most violent offenses in the County. It has been stated before that this problem didn’t begin overnight and it’s not going to end overnight.

This makes community perceptions and participation all the more important to understand and include in the comprehensive solutions developed.

This is your opportunity to provide your thoughts and comments on how to address the County’s gang issue and be part of a Countywide Gang Prevention Assessment Report.

download Spanish version of file here  

FocusGroup_Flyer_Spanish2.jpg (345.00 kb)

Download a referral form here Gang Referral Form.doc (46.00 kb)

These services are made possible through a CalGRIP grant.

Romeo Garza, of Sanger Paint Supply, and the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce have been collaborating and working extra hard to find ways to rid Sanger of graffiti.  With the help of friends from Frazee Paint and Eco-Solutions, they were able to get approximately 240 gallons of paint donated. They will be distributing the paint in front of Sanger Paint Supply on Friday, April 17^th and Saturday, April 18^th from 9 AM-4 PM to Sanger residents/business owners who have been affected by graffiti.  The best part about this is that the paint is completely FREE!    

Prior to the pick-up days, individuals will need to come into the Chamber Office and fill out a brief application.  They have been asked to bring: a photo that shows vandalism (photo will not be returned), proof of Sanger residence (by water bill, graffiti citation, etc.), and a color sample of their building so that the paint can be matched exactly to its original color. 

The paint distribution made the Sanger Herald and included is the link in case you want to check it out.  It will be posted on the site until this Thursday, April 16th.  http://thesangerherald.com/  The effort falls on the heels of a recent town hall meeting on graffiti hosted by the City of Sanger.

Would love to hear your comments and experience with this great opportunity - did you participate in the free paint giveaway? Post a comment

For more information on tackling graffiti - visit these previous blog posts

Reporting Graffiti Information

Is Your Child A Tagger

Governor Passes Graffiti Legislation