[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E89-E90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF COACHELLA VALLEY, CA

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 25, 1996

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, at a time in America, when many 
areas are experiencing an increase in juvenile crime, a society that is 
more violent than ever, when there is virtually no training for 
youngsters to prepare them for a productive adult life and the number 
of needy families and children is on the increase, there exists an 
organization in California that is doing their part to fight all of 
these social problems. It is the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella 
Valley.
  On a recent visit to California, I had the opportunity to see 
firsthand the work that is being carried on by this fine organization. 
In addition to offering a full schedule of activities for children on a 
daily basis that includes athletics, homework assistance, fine arts, 
health education, community service, cooking instruction, and computer 
classes, I also witnessed the following very meaningful programs: A 
nutrition program where meals with substance are served on a daily 
basis to the children. The club also identifies needy families in the 
community  through  the  churches  and  other social service 
organizations and distributes nourishing food to them. The club's 
nutrition program is operated in conjunction with a local food bank 
called FIND, Food In Need of Distribution. FIND serves 7,200 needy 
families weekly and distributes 3,200,000 pounds of food annually.
  I also witnessed another program operated by the Boys and Girls Club 
called Building Horizons. How appropriate a name, as this program 
teaches high school students from five different high schools the 
skills necessary to pursue a career in the construction industry upon 
graduation. On-the-job training is created for the students by 
constructing two homes each school year. Through a partnership with a 
local city the homes are sold to low- and moderate-income families. 
This program is also run in cooperation with the local school districts 
and the building industry. So you can see where the Building Horizons 
program serves two purposes, one, to provide career opportunities for 
aspiring students in the construction field and much needed affordable 
housing in the Coachella Valley.
  Finally, their criminal justice program accepts youngsters who are 
referred from the local police department who commit minor infractions. 
Successful solutions to the child's problem are found and the child is 
encouraged to get involved in Boys and Girls Club programs and with 
their professional staff, who are wonderful role models. Their 
counselor also works with young people who are trying to separate 
themselves from gang involvement.
  The Boys and Girls Club of Coachella Valley does an incredible job 
with the children. As you can see, one of the things that they do 
extremely well is partnership with other agencies and organizations 
both private and public.
  I congratulate my good friend Leo Wyler, who is one of the leaders in 
the Coachella Valley, for dealing with these problems as well as all of 
the other people in that area who are working so hard to make their 
young people successful, productive adults.
  The future of America, in my view, depends on programs like these and 
the involvement of leaders in the community in making sure that we have 
productive alternatives for our young people. If we don't emulate 
programs like these, then the future of America as respects drugs, 
crimes, et cetera, will not be very bright.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, my congratulations go out to all of those who 
support these programs, including my former colleagues Al McCandless 
and my good friend Leo Wyler.

                 $100 Will Buy $1,615.00 Worth of Food

       Hunger cannot be adequately described by numbers. But 
     ``numbers'' tell the story of FIND's 1994 services to the 
     needy families of eastern Riverside County:
Families served weekly........................................\1\ 7,200
Volunteers..........................................................465
Annual volunteer hours...........................................85,000
Value of volunteer hours at minimum wage.......................$404,009
Pounds of food distributed annually...........................3,200,000
Annual operating costs (1994)...................................325,000

\1\ 75 percent of the families served by FIND have monthly incomes of 
less than $800.

       If purchased at store, you would have spent $5,250,000.
       And we spent $325,000. This is accomplished through the 
     energy and time of our volunteers.
                                                                    ____


                  [From the Desert Sun, Nov. 27, 1995]

                        Leaving the Gang Behind

                          (By Lauralee Ortiz)

       Armando is thinking like a typical teenager.
       He plans to graduate next year and make some serious career 
     plans.
       The 16-year-old wants to join the U.S. Marines to become a 
     tank specialist or a military police officer.
       Every time Armando steps outside, he risks being shot at or 
     beaten up by a gang member.
       The Indio High School junior has been jumped twice 
     already--once for wandering into rival territory; the second 
     time, he said, the gangbangers thought he was somebody else.
       These days, the youth is among more than a dozen with 
     similar tales who are making an effort to separate from a 
     life they describe as dangerous and frightening.
       But, as one former gang member named Joe said, ``It's a lot 
     easier to get in than it is to get out. You can't just walk 
     away.''
       If you do, he said, the people you thought were friends 
     become enemies.
       Joe tried to change his look with long hair and a beard in 
     hope that he wouldn't be recognized by former rivals.
       Armando said he is not and never has been a gang member.
       Admittedly, he's surrounded by gangs, he knows gang members 
     and, yes, he's been hanging with them since he was 12 years 
     old.
       Guilt by association?
       Last year, he was expelled from a neighboring city school 
     for his role in beating up a student trying to dissociate 
     himself from the group.
       In his defense, Armando said he was a bystander in the 
     incident.
       He said he transferred to the school earlier in the year to 
     get away from problems at Indio High School.
     
[[Page E90]]

       Each Monday afternoon, Armando, Joe and other teens meet at 
     the Boys & Girls Club of Indio to talk about the trials of 
     gang involvement. They agreed to share their stories on the 
     condition that no real names be used. They're afraid of 
     reprisals.
       During a typical meeting, they stroll in, shake hands with 
     everyone in the room and plop down for an hour of honesty.
       As threatening as their looks appear--some with freshly 
     shaved heads donned what they described as the gang uniform, 
     white T-shirts, dark work pants and Nikes--their words reveal 
     the opposite.
       These boys are scared.
       ``I look around the room and wonder how many of us are 
     going to wind up dead, how many will be in prison,'' said 
     Raymond, a 16-year-old fresh from Indio Juvenile Hall.
       ``Personally, it scares me,'' said Armando, who added that 
     he now spends all his free time at the club on Date Avenue. 
     ``These guys are tough. And they think by shooting someone, 
     it makes them the toughest.''
       What are they killing and dying for?
       ``Race, property, land, streets, neighborhoods, 
     girlfriends,'' Armando said.
       ``Every day's a risk,'' said Joe, a 16-year-old Indio boy 
     who has been in Juvenile Hall three times. ``You could be 
     driving to pick up a girl, and somebody shoots at you.''
       Or, he said, you might get it just for looking at somebody 
     wrong.
       A self-described ``mean guy'' before being exposed to the 
     Boys & Girls Club, Joe gave animated descriptions of why he 
     participated in gang activity.
       Once, he said, he got into a battle with a white man who, 
     he claimed, was ``looking kind of crazy at me.''
       Another time, Joe said, he beat up an elderly white man who 
     was coughing near the pay phone he was using. He said his 
     friend ``decked'' the man's wife.
       Joe said he felt bad about the second incident when he 
     learned the man had cancer.
       Exaggerated, perhaps, said program counselor Ron Houston. 
     But, by the same token, such testimonials are evidence that 
     everyone--regardless of race of gender--is at risk of gang 
     violence.
       ``You never know exactly what motivates or drives them,'' 
     said Houston, who was an Indio police officer for 17 years. 
     ``A lot of it is peer pressure. They commit these violent 
     acts to be accepted.''
       Frightening for society, the number of gangs continue to 
     grow, he said. During his early years on the police force, 
     there were a few gangs in town.
       ``Now every section of town has its own.'' Houston said. 
     Even worse, the members are being recruited at 11 and 12 
     years old.
       ``They're the scariest,'' he said. ``They don't have any 
     remorse. They'll do anything to impress the older members.''
       Houston and Program Director Tony Williams have become 
     father figures to the teens, many of whom never had one. 
     Houston said the body language of the teens--the light 
     punches, arms around him, the kidding--lets him know a 
     connection has been made.
       ``We take this seriously,'' said Williams, 29, who worked 
     more than two years with some of the teens during their time 
     at Juvenile Hall. ``We are genuinely concerned about kids. We 
     want them to know that once they walk in that door, there's 
     somebody here who cares about them.''

                          ____________________