Miguel Moreno- Former Los Angeles Gang member whose younger brother died in his arms after he was shot in drive-by shooting by a rival gang, and another older brother shot another brother because he was a rival gang member. He unmasks the realities that gangs never add to a young persons life. He was shot 2 times, stabbed 10 times, and lives with the scars. He was often beaten along with his mother on the streets of his neighborhood. He unmasks the realties of gangs, ‘gangs do not to protect, respect you, or add to your life, they take your family, your education and your future. His message to kids is- “get out before its to late, my life was spared many times, yours may not.” He says, ‘the gangsters that I knew that were down for the hood, are spending the rest of their lives in cages like a dog in prisons with 1 hour of sunlight per-day, on a wheelchair, and or buried 6 feet under. If I had known all the losses that gangs had to offer me, I would have never chosen to be in a gang.
What is he doing now? He is a Mentor to Little Sammy (Pictured Above) with Hope for Youth Alliance. He is a guest speaker as one of HYA Former Gang Member Panel to reach gang involved youth though our School Gang Intervention/Prevention Assemblies and Outreaches.
Moreno pictured (Below) speaking to a group of young men at the Santa Fe County Detention Centers Day Drop in Program. SFCDC invited Hope for Youth Alliance to speak to youth. More Photos Here
Why do teenagers get involved with these (Gangs)?
The answer is simply, but painful. When a teenager doesn’t receive appreciation, security, comfort, or whatever that teenager needs at home, they seek an alternative source. That other source may be a group that embraces the hurting teenager and accepts them for who they are. But what if this accepting, new group participates in negative or destructive actions-vandalism, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, parental defiance, and unacceptable language?
Hurting teenagers, who are so absorbed in getting their unmet needs satisfied, willingly compromise personal morals and convictions to be accepted, to feel approval; to gain the attention denied them by their families. As Walt Mueller says, “If we choose not to mold and shape our children, someone else will.”
The mission of Guitars not Guns is to provide guitars and lessons to foster children, at risk youth and other deserving children. We serve children between the ages of 8 and 18. No child will be turned away. We are not anti-gun, we are anti-gun violence and we can offer an alternative to violence.
