Letting Go of Clecha, While Holding Corazón: A New Approach to Empowering Youth in Gangs

• In Event: Feelin' Myself: Possibilities of a Pedagogy of Listening

Abstract

Objectives
This scholarship reveals the approach and findings from a project to assess and support Homeboy Industries (HBI), a leader in wrap-around services for formerly gang-involved and incarcerated men and women, in their co-creation of a youth services committee and a comprehensive system of care for young people on the margins of society.

Theoretical Framework
The idea of clecha or street wisdom has been passed down for generations as the way that older homies “lace” (give) younger homies advice. In the research on best practices to reach gang involved youth, this clecha notion dates back to the curbside counselor of the 1930s, but often times, that form of advice has not worked. This has created what Larson (2006) calls the Intentionality Paradox. According to Larson, the paradox lies in that adults want to be intentional with their advice-giving to young people, because “it is easier to think about molding clay than about helping the clay mold itself” (Larson, 2006, p. 682). Essentially, Larson asserts what young people have been saying for a long time, “stop telling me what to do.” Many adults care so much that they struggle to balance letting youth learn on their own, and instead prioritize the sharing of their own experiences or clecha.

Methods
Data collected through this strategic project consisted of conducting stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and synthesizing those findings to present to the organization. The second part of this strategic project involved building and working with a team of individuals from various departments, including case management, mental health, education, job services within two separate agencies, Homeboy Industries and Learning Works Charter School Network, to create a youth services committee that could carry the work forward. The 4I Framework of Organizational Learning (Crossan, 1999) was utilized to evaluate the progress of this work. The 4I Framework contains “four related (sub)processes - intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing - that occur over three levels: individual, group, and organization” (Crossan et al., 1999, p. 524).

Findings
In the spirit of the Homeboy Bakery, the Takeaways “Baker’s Dozen” emerged from the 40 stakeholder interviews. One, therapy matters to youth. Two, meaningful jobs are key. Three, facilities that are 1.7 miles apart means youth may be out of sight, out of mind. Four, age appropriate spaces are needed. Five, youth voices are needed at the executive level. Six, create secure “bases” and an 18-month model. Seven, say no to clecha, which can seem like “nagging,” and yes to corazón. Eight, staff need consistent training and support. Nine, policies need unifying. Ten, create organized youth programming. Eleven, fund the youth programs. Twelve, rethink HBI’s stance on who it “serves.” Thirteen, a unified system of care is essential.

Scholarly Significance
The significance of this work is in its potential to influence non-traditional ways for youth to be empowered within the institutions that are intended to work for them as well as how a wrap around service provider can be (re)structured to better meet the needs of youth.

Author

• Cesar Cruz, Harvard University