Forum aims to develop gang strategy
Gus Carrasco knew he had to make a life-changing decision.
It was Nov. 11, 2017, and he had ended up in a hospital with a cardiomyopathy, which affects heart muscles.
“That was the closest call. That’s when my journey started,” Carrasco said on Tuesday. The 44-yearold joined STR8 UP a few months ago, aiming to give back to the community and steer youth away from the path he took.
He’s one of the members participating in a three-day forum STR8 UP is hosting in Saskatoon this week, titled “Sharing Solutions — Charting a Community Based Provincial Strategy.”
The forum brings together organizations, different levels of government, community leaders and others from around Saskatchewan to develop a provincial gang strategy.
Carrasco said he wants younger people to get the message that there’s a much better way of living your life than gangs.
He grew up in a big family, but ended up feeling abandoned by his parents, with whom he had a lack of communication. He started to meet new people and came across a gang. At the time, it seemed like they offered him love, loyalty and a sense of acceptance, he said.
He thought of it as a kind of love, but the relationship also gave him a sense of power, control and fulfilment.
“At first, everything is good,” he said. “But at the end, it will lead you to throwing your life away and letting go of some of the opportunities that you may have in life.”
For 30-year-old Devon Napope, the healing journey started last April.
“There are too many youth, too many family members, a lot of families out there that are struggling to get away ... addictions have a pull on us that are sometimes very hard to escape from,” he said.
The dysfunctional gang lifestyle brings people together behind bars or on the streets, where they meet new friends and create bonds, Napope noted.
“A lot of this is stemming from a sense of belonging for myself. And there’s a lot of issues that I haven’t dealt with myself that I’m healing from today.”
One of the goals at the forum is to define what “gang” means. STR8 UP forum co-ordinator Stan Tu’Inukuafe said a clear understanding is necessary to tackle the issue.
“How do you apply funding if you don’t have a clear definition of what a gang is?”
The forum gives participants insight about the motivation to join gangs in different communities and whether they are similar from place to place, he said.
In December, Public Safety Canada approved a funding application from STR8 UP for $188,000 to develop a provincial gang strategy.
The organization also has funding to allow members to travel to communities outside Saskatoon to share what was learned at the forum and learn about other experiences.
“We truly want to make it a Saskatchewan solution to gangs, not just a Saskatoon or Regina solution,” Tu’Inukuafe said.
A justice ministry spokesperson said the strategy isn’t the province’s official gang strategy.
In a statement sent to the StarPhoenix, the spokesperson said the corrections and policing ministry is “providing a provincewide view of the problem gangs create for the justice system and the people of Saskatchewan, and information on best practices in dealing with gangs.”
STR8 UP expects to complete a report by the end of the summer.