Covenant House Academy-Southwest presented their annual program, Death of a Gansta, on December 7^th and 8^th.  Special guest speakers were Gilbert Pasillas and Xiomara Torres, from the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. 

Students listened to Mr. Pasillas stories of gangs, prison, and new chances.  He hit hard and bluntly with the facts of gang involvement, “if you’re involved with a gang, you got two options: jail or dead.”  Imprisoned for 20-to-life under the RICO Act for three grams of cocaine, Pasillas graphically described what life in jail was like, emphasizing it’s not a place anyone wants to be.  Eventually released after five years for providing information on gang related activities, structure, and power bosses,

Ms. Torres, Director of the Urban Arts Academy, a program offered through the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, also spoke of her involvement in gangs as the child of a gang family with high profile gang involvement.  At age 15, she was selling drugs, her father was a heroin addict, her mom single and doing whatever she could to get by and she knew that life at home was just “wrong,” and she was caught in a cycle.  Her life improved she says, when she decided to “step away from it,” (the gangs). 

Wanting to “just be me,” she realized that she didn’t have to be like all the others on her street.  She reflected, “I don’t gotta be like that.  I don’t want to participate anymore.”  Self-determined, she put together a plan for herself by first defining what she wanted out of life, assessing what it would cost to achieve her goals and dreams, and set about making her plan and following it baby-step by baby-step.

She is currently the director of youth programs, and uses all her knowledge, skills and experience to help youth become strong individuals and to resist gang involvement.  The program teaches business and marketing skills, recording skills, and has opportunities to express artistic talent in a variety of venues. 

Pasillas and Torres spoke of people in their lives who cared enough to stick by them and get them on the right track in their lives.  Pointing out to the teachers and counselors attending the session, Pasillas said, “These are the people that care about you.  They’re the ones who can help you make something of yourself.   Education can open doors.  Gangs lead to jail or death.  It’s that simple.”

Ms. Rodriguez  said the goals of having the youth attend this program is to help them understand why youth join gangs, the unforeseen and severe consequences of gangs, to support one another in choosing more positive lifestyles, to learn how to resist peer pressure to join gangs, and to know that they can work for change.

Students were dismissed individually, and as the exited through an office, they saw an empty coffin with the chilling phrase repeated for each person, “This could be you.”

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