The Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project in Chicago

Jobs. The gang youth generally was more motivated to find a job than complete high school orpursue further education. Holding a job was an acceptable and appealing symbol of adult status.Gang youth often had a strong commitment to the importance and rewards of work based onmaturation factors, cultural, family, criminal justice, girlfriend, and even gang pressures. Therole of the youth worker, as a job broker, was very important to the gang member. Gang youthcontinually approached the workers for help in finding a job, a “good paying” job. The economywas good during the Project years. A variety of jobs were available for youth without highschool diplomas or GED certificates, in factories, hotels, restaurants, garages, local stores andbusinesses, some paying considerably more than minimum wage. Even before the Project parttimejob developer came on board, the workers had established a variety of direct contacts withlocal employers and job agencies. However, the steps involved in connecting particular youthwith jobs – let alone sustaining them on those jobs – were not simple.A key first step was to get the gang youth sufficiently motivated to consider a jobopportunity and to follow through with an application to an agency or employment office. Theyouth worker, with the aid of the Project secretary, was prepared to assist the youth withdevelopment of a job resume. The youth worker would sometimes pick up job applications togive to gang youth to complete and provide transportation for the youth to the job interview.However, one initial test of the youth’s intention was whether the youth could be out of bed anddressed, usually in the morning, by the time the worker showed up to take him to theemployment office or the job interview. There were many failures at this important step.The gang youth was also often unable to meet conditions of work. Some jobs requirednight hours, others drug tests and/or the possession of a driver’s license. In some cases the youth5.17