Causes of Violence in our
Community Research Project
Michael Guerra, Marco Gutierrez, Carmen
Rosas, German Soto, Brian Thomas
Presentation Outline
o Executive Summary
o Carmen Rosas & Michael Guerra
o Needs Analysis
o Michael Guerra, Marco Gutierrez, Brian
Thomas
o Solution Description
o German Soto
o Solution Criteria
o Carmen Rosas
o Solution Choice
o Carmen Rosas
Spring 2006 Semester
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Executive Summary
Carmen Rosas & Michael Guerra
Project Goal
o To collect information and data about:
o Citizen’s concerns and issues about
violence in our community
o To create a presentation that will
address:
o The causes of violence in our community
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Research Questions
o
What do people in Watsonville see as the
cause of violence in our community?
o
How are the people of Watsonville aware
of violence in our community?
o
What can we do to decrease violence in
our community?
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Data Collection
¾ Surveyed 150 people
¾ 62% Male & 38% Female
¾ 72% Latino, 21% Caucasian
¾ 40% Spanish is primary language
¾ 49% 16-20 years old; 25% 31+; 16% 21-25 years old
¾ Schooling:
¾33% some high school;
¾20% high school diploma; 31% some college; 8% college
diploma
¾65% were currently in school
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Data Collection
¾ Surveys distributed to and collected from:
¾ Public Library on Union Street & Freedom Blvd.
¾ Schools: Watsonville Community High School;
Cabrillo College Aptos Campus & Watsonville
Center
¾ Shopping malls:
¾Capitola Mall; Starbucks in Watsonville
¾ City of Watsonville: Police Department & Fire
Department
¾ Military Recruiting office in Capitola
¾ Family members of cohort
¾ Second Harvest Food Bank
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Causes to Violence
Understanding the Need / Problem
Michael Guerra, Marco Gutierrez, Brian Thomas
4
Background of Respondents
o Gang Background:
o Have friends that are gang members 35%
o Family member of someone in a gang 24%
o Work with gang or ex-gang members 9%
o Ex-gang member 5%
o Gang member 4%
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Background of Respondents
o Drug Background:
o Have friends that are drug users 45%
o Never done drugs 39%
o Family member of a drug user 23%
o Ex-drug user 22%
o Drug user 9%
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Background of Respondents
oAlcohol Background:
oFamily member of an alcoholic 34%
oNever drink 23%
oFrequent user of alcohol 19%
oEx-alcoholic 9%
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Who is in Need?
o Middle and High School students
o Students that drop out of school
o Parents
o Low income families
o Neighborhoods
o Everybody in our community!
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Where do we find these people?
All over Santa Cruz County
o Downtown
o Outside Shopping Centers
o In parks
o In neighborhoods
o In schools
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What are the Needs?
o Early education about what may lead to violence in
our community:
o
o
o
o
o
joining a gang
using drugs
not controlling your anger
not know what to do in a violent situation
lack of self-esteem and confidence
o Parents becoming more involved in the lives of their
children
o Better relationship between communities and their
police officers
o Getting high paying job since poverty increases
violence
o Both parents have to work and deal with financial stress
o Kids drop out to help bring in money to the family
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How do you know it is a need?
o People believe that violence is increasing in their
community
o 73% of the people responded that it is
o 41% of respondents indicated that they have been
personally affected by violence in our community
o Gangs and drugs were first and second when
people were asked what the primary source of
violence is
o 75% said gangs were a primary cause of violence
o 69% said drugs were a primary cause of violence
o 48% said alcohol were a primary cause of
violence
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How do you know it is a need?
o Both parents have to work and their
children are not attended to
o51% said both parents work
o There are many people that believe
that police increase violence in their
communities
o45% said police increase the
violence
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Why do these needs occur?
o Both parents have to work to support
their families, making it more likely
that children are left unattended
o There seems to be an increasing
trend of gang and drug activity in the
Santa Cruz county that is very visible
to people
o People have had bad experiences
with police officers
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When are the Needs Evident?
o When young people are involved in
outbreaks of violence
o When our youth are joining gangs
and using drugs
o When families cannot support
themselves
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What are the causes of violence in our
community?
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Causes Violence
30%
20%
10%
0%
Gangs
Drugs
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Alcohol
Youth
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Reasons youth don’t trust the police
30%
28%
25%
24%
23%
Treat people like
animals
Physical
harassment
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Stereotyping
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Both Parents Employed / Stay at Home Mother
57%
60%
50%
49%
51%
42%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
No
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Yes
Yes
No
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What are the consequences of meeting these
needs?
o Violence will decrease in our community
o Parents would better understand their
children and become a bigger part of their
lives
o Communities can learn to trust the police
and create a feeling of respect for
everyone
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What are the consequences of not meeting this
need?
o Violence in our communities will increase or
stay the same
o Parents and children will be possible victims
of violence
o Police officers and community members will
not be able to communicate with each
other
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Causes of Violence - Core Needs
o Citizens are concerned about the increase
in violence in our community
o Citizens in our community have experienced
violence
o Parents need to be more involved in their
children’s lives
o Children need after school assistance since
many have parents who both work
o Police have been helpful and have
exacerbated the problem of violence
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The Solution Statement
Michael Guerra, Marco Gutierrez, Carmen
Rosas, German Soto, Brian Thomas
Three recommended solutions
1. Workshops to help parents and
children
2. After school programs and activities for
students
3. Community forum with the Police
Department
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Solution 1: Workshops to Help Parents and Children
o Parents need to socialize and communicate
effectively with their children
o Children and parents need to respect each other
o Children need help from parents with school work
o Provide workshops at local schools to:
o Develop effective communication within families
– Support parents in helping their children with school work
– Show the importance of parental involvement in school:
– attend open house, parent/teacher meetings, attend their child’s
events
– Help parents determine the kind of activities their
children are interested in and plan time with them:
o Camping or fishing or both, play sports with them, theme parks, theater,
picnics
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Solution 2: After School Programs
• Purpose of the programs are to:
• Help students with their homework
• Explore future options – higher education, careers, leadership
• Develop key life skills: focusing your will, working in teams,
planning, time management, and business
• Help discuss issues that are affecting their lives – making
education relevant to them: personal problems, family issues,
drugs, gangs, violence
• Channel energy of teens positively – sports, martial arts,
performing arts, other arts, wilderness hikes, field trips
• Programs located at local schools with age appropriate activities
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Solution 3: Forums with Police
Establish forums for citizens and police to
communicate about violence in our
community
o Bridge the gap between the police and
the community.
o Ability for the public to ask questions
o Address issues that may be lingering
o Make our community stronger
o Get input from different neighborhoods
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Selection Criteria
1. Availability of participants
2. Funds needed
3. How easy to organize
4. Effort required to implement the solution
5. People needed to organize
6. Interest of institutional leaders
7. Need for mentors
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Criteria Table
1.
Availability of
participants.
2.
Funds needed.
Workshops to
help parents
and children
After School
Programs and
Activities.
Forum with the
Police
Department.
XX
XXX
XXX
X
X
XXX
X
X
XXX
3. How easy to
organize
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Criteria Table
Workshops to
help parents
and children
After School
Programs and
Activities.
4. Effort
required
X
X
XXX
5.
People
needed to
organize
X
X
XX
6.
Interest of
leaders
XXX
XXX
XX
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Forum with the
Police
Department.
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Criteria Table
Forum with the
Police
Department.
Workshops to
help parents
and children
After School
Programs and
Activities.
7. Mentors
XX
XXX
X
Total
11
13
17
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Chosen Solution: After School Programs
o The after school programs provide the teens with
things to do in their spare time
o Help them with their school work and improve their
grades
o Playing sports and building their confidence
o Providing strategies of how to talk to parents or vice
versa about any of their concerns
o Prevent them from
o Joining a gang
o Being tempted with drugs & alcohol
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Goal
À To decrease the violence in our
community by:
providing after-school programs to positively
channel the energy of our youth
Help students with their homework
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Objectives
À Obtaining support from local school
officials
À Raising funds to create after school
programs
À Implementing the program
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Outcomes
À Decrease the violence in our community
À Improve communication within families
À Provide positive role models for our
youth
À Increase self-esteem and confidence in
our youth
Increase the number of high-school
graduates
Increase the number of students who
attend and graduate from college
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