| The breakdown of the family and poor parenting are identified as two of the chief contributors to the formation of youth gangs and gang related activities in Trinidad and Tobago.This was the consensus of more than 60 stakeholders from Trinidad and Tobago who came together on November 25, last, to discuss a targeted social intervention pilot project to be developed in response to the escalating gang related violence in several communities of that Republic, which is now under a state of emergency.This is the last of four stakeholder consultations facilitated by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in four Member States.It is the second stage of a four-phase social intervention project designed to reduce youth gang violence in targeted Member States of Belize, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.In endorsing the stakeholders’ opinions, CARICOM Secretariat Programme Manager, Sustainable Development, Ms Beverley Reynolds, who has responsibility for guiding the implementation of the project, added that the fact finding stage of the consultations done at the sub-regional level had underscored the need for more comprehensive targeted programs including parenting and community education to address the problem of gangs and gang violence among young people.She also stressed the importance of treating with other underlying risk factors; chief of which she listed as high unemployment rates, high rates of school drop-outs, social marginalisation, identity crisis and poor self- esteem. She explained that invariably, young people needed to feel a sense of belonging; they want to be engaged in meaningful activities designed to boost their self-esteem and help in their self-actualization process. In the absence of these pull factors she said, the push factors propel them into the crippling circle of gangs.“We need to topple the myth that gangs are families…” she asserted. “Gangs are not families and cannot substitute for the supportive environment provided by a good family.”Ms Reynolds acknowledged however that in the absence of such a supportive environment “young people will seek to identify with gangs which they perceive gives them a sense of identity, belonging and control over their lives.”In this regard, she underlined the need to strengthen the protective factors that would help to build the resilience of young people to make them less vulnerable to peer pressure and other risk factors.There is of course documented evidence to support Ms Reynold’s claims: In their book, Juvenile Delinquency – Trends and Perspectives, Rutter and Giller (1983) noted that “the family characteristics most strongly associated with delinquency are parental criminality, ineffective supervision and discipline, familial discord and disharmony, weak parent-child relationships, large family size, and psycho-social disadvantage.”Specific programme initiatives that have been recommended to address these problems are evident in the activities directed towards supporting families, developing positive parenting skills,China Jerseys Free Shipping, providing respite care and preventing family violence.Family support services include parent-effectiveness training and family stress management techniques aimed at providing assistance in dealing with family relations, while community development initiatives include education, skills and entrepreneurship training, public education, counseling services and health care.At its 20th meeting held in Guyana in 2010, the COHSOD endorsed the Action Plan and gave full support to the national consultations, especially with key players in the education sector.The plan is rooted in sound theory and research which indicates that in Canada, US, Europe and other countries social interventions have spawned positive results; they are cost-effective, and provide additional social benefits. Researchers now conclude that social interventions can yield positive, measurable benefits within three years, with reductions in crime of 25 per cent to 50 per cent within 10 years.But to take it closer home, Trinidad and Tobago joins Belize as two of the four pilot countries that have so far demonstrated that crime prevention through social development does work. |
