Dear Friends:
As we draw near to the “Parents on a Mission” (POM) Gang Prevention Training in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th, allow me to reach out to you one more time with a special offer that you cannot refuse!
Special Offer – TWO FOR ONE DEAL – SIGN UP AND BRING A COLLEAGUE (or friend) FOR FREE!! Yes, for FREE!
Come on now, is that a deal or is that a deal? (Or maybe I should ask, “deal or no deal?”).
As you’ve heard, this is unlike most (if not all) of the “gang prevention” trainings out there. The focus in this training is on empowering parents, rather than the community, as the best prevention strategy any community can invest their time and resources in. And that is an important distinction to make given the ongoing investment in suppression and intervention practices being made around the country. But prevention is different. It is not intervention after the fact. It is a pro-active approach to keep kids from ever going down the path of joining a gang.
However, to accomplish true prevention it will take parents. Parents are the primary gate keepers of raising happy, healthy children-with the rest of the community supporting the role and authority of parents, not replacing it.
Many claim it “takes a village” to raise a child. POM says it does not take a village, but only one family and good parenting to raise a child. Yes, police, probation, parks, pools and community programs are helpful. Yet, they can not replace good “old fashioned” respect and obedience to parental authority.
If we are to win this competition with gangs, it will be won inside the home, behind closed doors. If we fail to focus on empowering parents and continue to fail to solve the other social issues that create gangs, the community effort of creating and funding more programs and well intentioned coalitions, will not succeed in reducing gang activity from our neighborhoods.
It’s not that programs don’t work at all, however the problem is we continue to produce more and more candidates for gang recruitment in each generation and it seems as if we are falling further behind and growing a bigger problem – WHY??? – WHAT IS MISSING?
What is missing is the fact that marriages and child rearing are not what they used to be. And as the foundation of human relationships has continued to erode over the past fifty years, (not to mention the growth and influence of graphic movies, music and magazines) more and more children continue to search for validation, meaning and everything else to fill the void in their hearts that yearns for unconditional love. Am I right or wrong?
So if we want to stop gangs from continuing on and growing generation after generation, doesn’t it make sense to work on the front end, rather than always reacting on the back end? All social group members age, or move on to other things, and depend on “fresh blood” to continue the legacy, don’t they? So what is the best way to cut off new recruits? I’ll come back to answer that in a minute, but one thing the last fifty years has taught us is what doesn’t work and that is creating more “social programs”. A lack of programs has not been the problem, and if it was the answer, we would have solved the gang problem a long time ago.
So here’s what’s happening my friends:
- A minority group (gangs) is causing decision makers at the highest levels of our communities (and nation for that matter), to create whole new entities and rearranging whole budgets to deal with a small group (generally speaking) of individuals.
- Gangs are outperforming public education in recruiting, retaining and reproducing leaders out of our youth.
- Gangs are outperforming parents by winning the loyalty of their children.
- Gangs are generating community enthusiasm for “unity”, better, or on equal footing with other positive social movements.
That’s plenty to chew on, and to be sure, “Parents on a Mission” (POM) was not designed to address all of the above. But rather to address what I consider to be the best way to cut off the community pool of potential gang recruits, and that is to give parents the tools to earn the respect, exercise their authority and be the heroes that win the loyalty of the hearts of their children. No gang is more enticing than the approval, acceptance and unconditional love of a parent, even in the midst of a gang infested neighborhood. And the statistics bare this out. You will learn all about this and so much more. By the end of the two day training you will be equipped and empowered with real and doable solutions on how to prevent youth from ever desiring to join a gang!
Overview of the POM Curriculum Content:
Session 1: POM Orientation
The orientation serves to introduce participants to the core values and concepts of Parents on a Mission. In addition, the orientation serves to give parents a brief understanding about gangs and their growing influence throughout the country. However, POM is not a gang awareness curriculum. This session is not designed to give an in-depth teaching on the gang sub-culture of graffiti, hand signs, colors and other information and data usually given by law enforcement presentations. Should participants desire this kind of knowledge, the instructor can invite a guest law enforcement (or other subject matter expert) instructor to give a presentation. POM is designed to focus on the problems that create gangs, and not on the problems that gangs create.
Session 2: Parental Personal Growth
The purpose of this first lesson is to help parents understand the importance of their own emotional growth and maturity as leaders in their home. The material guides parents to an inside-out approach to personal growth and how it relates to their ability to nurture the growth and maturity of their children.
Session 3: Parental Authority & Gang Prevention
Parental authority is by far the most overlooked principle to gang prevention. Because of the importance of this issue, two sessions have been devoted to the topic of parental authority and discipline. The lesson on parental authority emphasizes why parents must win the battle of child obedience and provides principles for accomplishing this at an early age. Parents will learn the importance of the “twelve year home field advantage” and how to maximize this vital time frame in preparing our children for dealing with peer pressure in the neighborhood and school campus.
Session 4: Parental Authority & Discipline
Parental authority and the use of discipline is a controversial topic. Many parents are confused and afraid to exercise their right as the authority figure in the lives of their children. This session will define the true meaning of discipline and give guiding principles on how to properly exercise parental authority. This session will also address the controversy over the issue of spanking. While POM does not advocate the rightness or wrongness of spanking, we do recognize that many parents do choose to spank their children and thus we provide guidance on its proper use vs. the illegality of physical abuse. While many argue that parents should not spank their children for any reason, POM respects the choice and right of parents to spank, but to do so properly and wisely. Finally, this lesson will help participants make the crucial link between gang prevention and child obedience.
Session 5: Community Building
Citizenship and the instruction of the individual’s role in the family and community is the purpose of session five. Parents gain insights on the family unit as a microcosm of society and how they guide their children from dependence, to independence, and finally to interdependence as contributing members of their community. Suggested activities are given to assist parents in how to build community in their home.
Session 6: Trust & Loyalty
One of the key elements of becoming a gang member is the willingness to pledge loyalty to the gang above everything and everyone else. Because of the youth’s willingness to make this pledge, many families have suffered the agonizing loss of their child to prison or the grave yard. This begs the question; why would any young boy or girl want to give away their loyalty to a street gang? This session examines how parents are losing this battle to their competition (Gangs), and provides guidance on how to overcome and win the battle for the trust and loyalty of their children as the best practice for gang prevention that any community can invest in.
Don’t wait – ACT NOW and Enroll in this unique and timely training!
Sincerely,
Richard
P.S. – Don’t forget space is limited and the cut off date to enroll is June 22, 2009.
P.P.S – Remember our special deal offer – If you enroll now you can bring a friend for free! Follow your heart and click below – Our program comes with a 100% guarantee of satisfaction or your money back, no questions asked!
