Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 03/27/08

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Cook

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

DA PILOT PROGRAM TO KEEP YOUTH
AWAY FROM GANGS A G.R.E.A.T. SUCCESS

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced that the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office recently successfully presented a pilot program, Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.), to the Santa Rosa Boys and Girls Club members. The GREAT program is an innovation of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) designed to train law enforcement agencies in partnering with communities and schools to provide adolescents information and skills to make responsible decisions in their formative years.

District Attorney Passalacqua said, “I am proud of our dedicated team of instructors, who were the first DA staff in the nation to independently take this training into the community to help children learn life-skills that will help them avoid destructive behaviors.“

The DA’s Office plans to expand this outreach by presenting the program in other areas of the community as well as in the local schools. “Our partnership with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mary Bates and the Boys and Girls Club was the key to this pilot program’s success. The feedback we received was very positive and we’ve been asked to take the program into other communities locally,” DA Passalacqua said.

"At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Santa Rosa, we prepare youth for life. The implementation of the G.R.E.A.T. program by the D.A. is a perfect fit and helped the kids gain insight into gangs, violence and bullying," stated Dr. Mary Bates, CEO.

Five deputy district attorneys and a district attorney investigator attended the two-week training program presented by ATF last summer. Our six GREAT instructors then presented the GREAT Progam to after school children who attended the Santa Rosa Boys and Girls Club on Patio Ct. in Santa Rosa. The pilot program concluded at the close of this past year.

The program teaches youth life skills in coping with stressful situations and avoiding gang activity and youth violence. It teaches children skills to resolve conflicts peacefully, gives them accurate information about gang involvement, and helps them set realistic goals. Prevention is its key concept.

As one youth stated after participating in the program, "You can never solve problems with violence and bullying people is hurtful." Another youth said, "It's bad to bully and never join a gang, they are bad for everyone."