Gang awareness training
sponsored by New Directions Youth
Oct. 24, 2007
The growing gang activity in the suburbs as well as the urban areas of Western New York will be discussed at a “Gang Awareness” workshop sponsored by New Directions Youth and Family Services in collaboration with the Buffalo Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies.
This training will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5 in the Harlem Road Community Center, 4255 Harlem Rd., Amherst.
The workshop is for school personnel, mental health providers, social services providers and police officers.
The purpose of the training is to provide guidelines with which adults can assess whether a youth is involved in a gang or at risk of becoming involved in a gang, and to address the issue of preventing gang activity in our communities.
Presenters will include Officer Richard Woods of the Buffalo Police Department, a local authority on gang activity; Mario Hernandez, cottage supervisor at New Directions’ Wyndham Lawn Home for Children in Lockport; Hector Alicea, New York State Trooper Investigator; Denis Lates, Erie County Deputy Sheriff; Howie Colon, Erie County Probation Officer, and Thomas E. Einhiple, University Police Investigator 1 at Buffalo State College.
“Whether it’s in the city or suburbs, gang activity will grow unchecked if people aren’t aware of it,” said Margaret D. Flannery, clinical director of Wraparound Services at New Directions Youth and Family Services, who is organizing the event. “Service providers often aren’t aware that the graffiti they see is gang related. Or they see graffiti and think it is gang related when it’s just ‘tagging,’ which is more of an artistic expression. When people aren’t aware, they aren’t safe.”
The event is at capacity with than 100 people registered; no more registrations are being accepted.
New Directions Youth and Family Services helps children with emotional and behavioral problems, along with their families. The agency offers preventive and community-based treatment, educational services, supervised independent living, therapeutic foster care, non-secure detention, group homes and residential treatment.