OCT 1111: SNYDER – “LOS ANGELES STREET KIDS: NEW OCCUPATIONS
FOR LIFE PROGRAM”
Abstract:
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believe programs aimed at the daily occupations of at-risk youth may act as a
potential deterrent to street gang activity
pilot program developed by the Univ. of Southern California Dept. of
Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy targeted the harmful occupations
of 100 Hispanic and African-American teenagers at risk for gang involvement
program provide a safe context for disestablishing gang allegiances, building
community and exploring socially acceptable, productive occupations
“L.A. Street Kids”
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in L.A. countless thousands of youth drop out of school and join gangs each year
usually male, b/w ages 13-21
youths seek the advantages they believe that gangs promise, in the end what they
usually experience is violence, substance abuse, incarceration and sometimes
death at a young age
Barry Jones, in his book “Sleepers Wake” points out that in post-industrial
nations, high growth rates, significant return on investment and reduction in waste
are hallmarks of economic efficiency- but he warns that if they lead to high
unemployment, demoralization and human wastage, social losses may outweigh
the economic gains
under such socioeconomic conditions, the gap b/w the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
widens; in cities like L.A. we find that at the same time the stock market is
soaring, street gangs are proliferating
society’s attempts to stem the progression of gangs and gang activity have been
largely ineffective
believe that an occupational based program held substantial promise for these
youth and in light of this belief, the New Occupations for Life Program was
developed
The Program
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aim was to help 100 Hispanic and African-American teens who are involved with
gangs or at risk for gang involvement to graduate from high school, to master
skills necessary for transition to productive adulthood and to create a sense of
community amongst themselves as an alternative to gangs
underlying philosophy of program was that OT could accomplish what the
mainstream educational system was not doing: helping them learn and use the
info they need to be productive in mainstream culture
educational model brings information but does not MOTIVATE them to
purposefully engage in life activities using that info.
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this population generally embraces information through “learning by doing” and
OT may be an important complement to educational programming b/c it
emphasizes motivation and doing, thus giving participants the opportunity to
benefit from new life experiences
at-risk youth attended an educational program at alternative education school sites
and were not allowed to dress in gang colours; began to explore identities other
than street identities
at each site, the intervention was provided twice weekly for six weeks, each
session was two hours in length
following evaluation prd, the “action-oriented” phase of the program commenced
program focused on: social communication and socialization (making
friends/joining clubs); prevocational training and employment readiness; resource
awareness (transportation/health care); community building; self-management
(budgeting/cooking); enhancement of self-esteem and improving attendance in
school to achieve diploma
these areas were addressed in the context of a number of different activities
documented the progress of the students after each session
immediate verbal and written feedback from teachers, administrators and
students through a post-program questionnaire were positive regarding the
experience and impact of program; feedback gathered one month after the end of
the program was also positive but follow-up research on the life progression of
the participants have not yet been conducted
Analysis of the Therapeutic Process
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the intervention employed seemingly mundane occupations including games, food
preparation, crafts and drama; however, these were used to create an essentially
transformational and emergent social process
they propose that through this process, gang members and those at-risk were
afforded the time and space in which to rethink their lives, to act and interact with
one another in new ways, and to experience a new “mode of being”
in other words, they were provided opportunities to change their “images of
themselves, their place in the world, their goals and their capacities” through
OCCUPATION
rather than being trivial/mundane, playful activities that are separated form the
realities of life are potent vehicles for reflexivity, social process, crisis resolution
and adaptation
by addressing occupations and providing the opportunity for replacing them with
others which are more healthy, safe, productive and socially acceptable, they
believe positive change occurred which may be sustainable in the long term