Sponsorship from a teacher, police officer, clergy, community leader .

Once accepted the student must attend a required amount of classes per month.

Must be between the ages of 11 and 17

Must remain free of gang involvement and have no negative contact with the police

For Those at Risk

To those of you who are living in the gang life and or are looking to get into it, please take a moment to let the following words soak in.

I have never met a gang member who wasn’t looking out for him or herself first and foremost.  The loyalty they show you to suck you into the lifestyle disappears the moment you decide not to risk spending the rest of your life in a jail, not to be a moving target or the moment someone who outranks you suddenly has something against you.  You are not the King or Queen of the streets as you are made to feel you are.  You are simply a scapegoat for dirty officials and drug dealers you’ll never even meet.  Don’t fool yourself—there are easier ways to live the hip-hop life.  I mean you can wear the clothes, enjoy the music, do the dance, but do it with those who stay in school and without getting yourself killed.  All police, judges, politicians, and suburbanites you think you are hurting by your acts of delinquency are getting rich at the expense of your life.

 If it is abuse at home that is making you turn to gangs, seek help.  Please seek help.  Go to a teacher, to a school counselor, talk to anyone who you think can get you out of the abusive situation.  But you have to understand that extreme situations often call for extreme measures.

From the Book, Once a King Always A King: The Unmaking of a Latin King

Reymundo Sanchez