With an increase in the number of girls playing a role in gangs in Vancouver, a local gang-awareness program has created a poster to show young women how they can be exploited by gangsters.
Amir Javid, founder of the program Street Smarts, said the “girls and gangs” poster project was hard to implement because of the lack of research on the subject.
“Only recently have we been able to actually understand what (this issue) looks like,” said Javid. “In Vancouver, there is a lot of mid-level gang involvement, where the girls come from middle-class homes. (They) are very well educated, but at the same time they’re engaged in these relationships with these guys in organized crime.”
The poster highlights the different variables that come into play — the money, the sex, the drugs, the power and the abuse.
Javid’s wife, Desiree Javid, accompanies him on visits to correctional facilities, schools and the streets, to talk about the experiences she went through growing up and how she transitioned out of her gang lifestyle.
“It’s almost as intense as coming off of drugs,” she said. “You’re so used to having whatever you want whenever you want it. My role is to explain that your history is not going to write the rest of your story.”
The Street Smarts program has spoken to about 15,000 children. With this poster they are hoping to speak to many more.
For information, contact Amir Javid at amir.streetsmarts@gmail.com.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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