After hearing about last week’s drive-by shootings through Sterling Park, Jonathan Retes, 12, was proud to be a Road D.A.W.G. (Don’t Associate With Gangs) graduate.
"I heard about the shootings and it made me feel bad," said the Seneca Ridge Middle School seventh-grader. "I knew some kids whose houses got shot. I felt bad for them."
Retes was one of 60 students enrolled in the antigang camp, led by the Department of Parks and Recreation and Sheriff’s Office deputies Dave Goss, Jason Fedkiw and Mike Hansen. The four-week program was divided into three sessions; two one-week programs for fifth- and sixth-graders attending middle school for the first time, and a two-week program for River Bend, Seneca Ridge and Sterling Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade students.
"This is a vulnerable age and we wanted to serve kids exposed to gang activity," Goss said. "There’s a need in this area."
IN THE FALL, Goss walks the halls of Sterling elementary, middle and high schools. He said he sees signs of gangs and violence more and more in the middle and high schools. The biggest issues include gang-on-gang violence and gang members wearing signs and symbols in their schools.
"They want to represent their gang, wear their colors and show everyone who they’re a part of," Goss said.
School principals are aware of gang colors and make students take their clothes off or turn them inside out. If principals know students are in a gang, they’ll address the issue.
"We don’t just target specific colors," Goss said.
Road D.A.W.G. is an important program, the deputy explained, because it keeps teens off the streets when school is out.
"One of the reasons kids join gangs is because they’re bored," Goss said. "They’re bored, their families go off to work, they want to belong to a group."
STERLING COMMUNITY Center director Sky Dantinne worked hard to keep students at risk of joining gangs, busy.
Dantinne planned trips to public pools, the Air and Space, Holocaust and Loudoun Farm museums and a camp at Hemlock Overlook Center operated jointly by George Mason University and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, lectures and trust-building activities. Sterling Middle School student Marlen Escobar said his favorite part of camp was going swimming. When they went on trips, they wore matching T-shirts, white with bulldogs on the front.
"I had a good time," the 13-year-old said. "I liked going to camp and doing fun stuff instead of being on the streets."
"We wanted to give kids an opportunity to do something they wouldn’t normally get to do," Goss added. "Teach them we’re not the bad guys. They can trust us."
In an effort to build trust, Goss played sports with Sterling students. He talked to them about the dangers of joining gangs and explained to them the consequences of committing crimes.
"We learned important stuff like good manners," Retes said. "I learned about how much trouble I could get in if I joined a gang."
"We’ve got to get the message out, if you choose to lead this type of life, you’ll probably end up in jail or killed," Goss said. "We hope kids see us in a different light. We’re there to help them, not to hurt them."