An Epidemic

We know that we can't change the world, but we can do something. One life at a time. The lives we focus on are young men and women in inner cities. There are tens of thousands of them. They may look tough, but they're hungry, afraid and often filled with hopelessness. Crossthreadz is a program that not only offers to meet the intellectual and emotional needs of inner city youth, but we offer hope that transcends any life situation. According to the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Youth Gang Survey, there are 27,000 different gangs and 788,000 active gang members in the U.S. Every city in America with a population greater than or equal to 250,000 reported gang activity, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This entire subculture is a changing enterprise; it’s got its own pulse, its own heartbeat. Gangs do die out occasionally because of members being killed or imprisoned. They also crop up. It is common to see a kid who starts out as a graffiti tagger, carrying a weapon for protection against a rival tagging crew, develop into a full-fledged gang member. Recently many large cities in the United States have experienced an epidemic of youth homicides. In 2008 in my hometown of Philadelphia, nearly half of all gun homicides involved gang-related motives, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. WHO'S REACHING OUT TO THESE AND OTHER AT-RISK YOUTH???

Facts at a Glance:

* 100% of cities with population greater than or equal to 250,000 reported gang activity in 2008 * 85% of cities with population between 100,000 and 229,999 reported gang activity in 2008 * 65% of cities with population between 50,000 and 99,999 reported gang activity in 2008 * 44% of cities with population between 25,000 and 49,999 reported gang activity in 2008 * 20% of cities with population between 2,500 and 24,999 reported gang activity in 2008 * 35% of suburban counties reported gang activity in 2001 * 11% of rural counties reported gang activity in 2008 * 95% of the jurisdictions reporting gang activity in 2008 had also reported gang activity in previous survey years * 3,000 jurisdictions across the US are estimated to have had gang activity in 2008 * 56% of cities with population greater than or equal to 100,000 reported an increase or no significant change in the number of gang members in 2001 * 42% of cities with a population of at least 25,000 reported an increase in the number of gang members * 45% of cities with a population of at least 25,000 reported an increase in the number of gangs from the previous two years * 69% of cities with population at least 100,000 reported having gang related homicides in 2008 * 37% of cities with population between 50,000 and 99,999 reported having gang related homicides in 2008 * 59% of all homicides in 2008 in Los Angeles and 53% in Chicago were gang related, there was a total of 698 gang related homicides in there two cities combined where as 130 other cities with population of at least 100,000 with gang problems reported having a total of 637 homicides between them

Trends in Gangs in the U.S.:

* In 2008, 53% of the respondents to the National Youth Gang Survey reported active gangs in their jurisdictions. * It is estimated that 94% of gang members were male and 6% were female in 2008. * It is estimated that 39% of gangs active in 2008 had at least one female member; 2% of gangs were identified as being composed of predominantly female members. * In 2006, 50% of gang members were under the age of 18, but in 2008 only 37% of gang members were estimated to be under the age of 18. * In 2008 it is estimated that 47% of gang members were Hispanic, 31% were African American, 13% were white, and 7% were Asian. These percentages seem to remain fairly steady over the years.