[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
    THE ADULT FRIENDS FOR YOUTH REDIRECTIONAL METHOD: AN EFFECTIVE 
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION MODEL FOR REDUCING AND ELIMINATING ADOLESCENT 
                             GANG BEHAVIOR

  Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, the United States of America finds 
itself in the grip of a terror, called street violence, with which it 
feels powerless to cope. This feeling of powerlessness has resulted in 
frustration and helplessness turned to rage; a rage that is manifested 
in a national get tough policy that includes stricter enforcement of 
laws, tougher sentences, placing 100,000 police officers on the street, 
and establishing boot camps for youthful offenders. I believe such 
measures are an important step toward sending a clear message to 
criminals and would-be criminals that our society will not tolerate 
their behavior. That is why the Senate worked last year to pass a 
comprehensive anticrime package.
  However, we must also begin to look beyond the criminal act itself 
and ask, ``What are the conditions that turn a human being into a 
violent predator? It is time that we take a good hard look at 
ourselves, and start to find some answers to that question before we 
destroy our Nation's greatness.
  In our present frame of mind, we look only at the act and respond by 
punishing it. Logically, if punishment was the answer then we should 
see crime and violence drying up. But that is not the case. It is time 
that we stop reacting only to acts of violence and begin to look at the 
humanity of the perpetrator. When we can do that we may begin to unlock 
the door that will help both perpetrators and their victims find a 
decent life that is free from fear.
  There is a youth service agency, Adult Friends for Youth, in my State 
of Hawaii that has developed a unique gang intervention method, called 
the redirectional method, that looks beyond the criminal and violent 
acts of adolescent gang members, and interacts with them at the most 
human level. It demonstrates concern for their problems and needs, and 
does not simply remonstrate them for their behavior or give them 
advice.
  At first glance, the redirectional method, created by Adult Friends 
for Youth, may appear to be spoiling gang members. However, the 
important questions are: Does the redirectional method reduce and/or 
eliminate gang violence? and; Does it reduce and/or eliminate gang 
behavior and the gang itself? The answers to these questions are a 
resounding, yes. In fact, the Honolulu Police Department acknowledges 
that gang activity in the underprivileged community where Adult Friends 
for Youth has focused its efforts is down by 50 percent, at the same 
time that it is up in other communities. Unfortunately, due to limited 
financial resources, Adult Friends for Youth cannot extend its program 
further. Too often I hear complaints that problems can't be solved for 
lack of an answer, but today I stand here to tell you that a new well 
of knowledge has been discovered, and we need only to start drawing 
from it.


                 a group theory perspective of the gang

  The redirectional method takes the view that a gang is like any other 
group with the significant exception that it is perceived as, and often 
is, a threat to other people and institutions. Although gangs may vary 
in severity of behavior, it appears that they share fundamental 
commonalities. They are either a small friendship group, or consist of 
faction of a larger group with a core membership rarely exceeding 25 
members, and often much smaller. Members frequently live in the same 
neighborhood and share common age, economic, ethnic, gender, 
experiential, and interests characteristics.
  Many, if not most, gang youth believe that they are unacceptable in 
the mainstream because they look different from the racial or ethnic 
groups who appear to run things. This low self-esteem is enhanced by 
poverty, a lack of educated or occupationally successful role models, 
and often physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Consequently, they 
believe that they have little worth, and since they are unloved that 
they are unlovable. They also feel powerless to change their lives, and 
often, even if they do want to change, don't know how to go about doing 
it. For these young people, the gang is the brotherhood, sometimes 
sisterhood, that provides security, a sense of belonging, affection, 
and value.
  One myth about gangs is that they form with the intent to do harm. In 
fact, Adult Friends for Youth gang workers have found that many members 
regret having joined a gang and wish things were different. Few have 
said that they became members to cause trouble or joined with the 
intent to harm. Most have stated that they join for protection, that 
is, Your brothers protect your back. However, this doesn't cancel the 
view that sometimes the best defense is a strong offense.
  Undeniably, the gang is a very powerful influence in the lives of its 
members. Therefore, if behaviors are to be redirected the group cannot 
be ignored as the context through which change can be achieved.


                        the redirectional method

  The redirectional method, created by Adult Friends for Youth, 
contributes to the development of self-esteem, self-determination, and 
empowerment. It helps members of the gang to feel valued, and helps 
them to develop a sense of their potentialities and how to achieve 
them. The fundamental principles of the redirectional method are all 
critical to redirecting youth from gang to prosocial club behaviors. 
The goal of the method is not to control gang members, but rather to 
change their behaviors in order to integrate them into middle-class 
mainstream.
  The redirectional method is also unique because it presumes that gang 
members ultimately have the ability to make decisions that are in their 
best interests, and that these decisions will also be best for the 
community. This is a clear contradiction to the common position that 
adults always know what is best for the child. The method also assumes 
that members have the capacity to join the mainstream, and provides 
frequent opportunities for participating in new experiences, including 
access to institutions of higher education. Many of these youth have no 
idea that they can go to college, because all too often they've heard 
that they are not college material. The mere action of exposing them to 
a university campus removes the mystique, and provided them with the 
sense that maybe it's possible after all.
  The principles of the redirectional method are practical and easily 
understood, and can, with dedication, professional discipline, and 
financing, result in the positive outcomes experienced by Adult Friends 
for Youth. Results that include a high school graduation rate of 80 
percent by gang members in 1992 and 1993, up from 20 percent in 1991, 
the elimination of fighting among groups, and the evolution of gangs 
into social clubs.
  The redirectional method represents a new generation of knowledge to 
help adolescent gang members become part of America's mainstream. It is 
up to us to make use of this knowledge and turn back the tide of 
violence that is becoming increasingly pervasive and damaging to our 
way of life.

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