Road DAWG

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

The Road DAWG (Don’t Associate With Gangs) camps deter gang recruitment of younger children by providing tools to strengthen their resilience, develop positive decision-making skills, and encourage leadership characteristics to buffer against the potential lure of gangs. In a time of tight budget constraints, the Road DAWG camps supplement ongoing gang prevention programming during the school year by capitalizing on the existing resources of county agencies and the schools; partnering with community and business groups; partnering with community and business groups; and integrating with law enforcement efforts to serve as many youth as possible. The Road DAWG camp was created as a response to community concerns about the growing gang problem and the recruitment of increasingly younger children. Middle School students were seen as particularly vulnerable –but also particularly receptive to the prevention strategies developed for the program. The key is not to focus just on suppression, but also to invest in prevention and intervention efforts to reach youth before they are drawn into the gang lifestyle.