Gang prevention, lobbying are focus
of two-day meeting

School nurses and health professionals gathered in Washington, D.C., in January to take part in a leadership development conference where they discussed how they could work together to improve the profession. The conference, which has focused on school nurses in the last few years, welcomed other school health professionals for the first time. The goal: to reach out to all health professionals in the school setting in order to help the entire school community address common concerns, such as worker-to-student ratios, privacy issues, crisis management, and the lack of resources and equipment.

“We often work in isolation,” says Mildred Gutierrez, a guidance counselor at the Newburgh (N.Y.) Free Academy and member of the Newburgh Teachers Association. “As a guidance counselor, I deal with health issues at all levels but I’m not always clear on the role others play,” says Gutierrez, who was attending the conference for the first time. She says coming to the conference helped her understand more about the roles of her colleagues as well as the national union’s role.

During the two-day conference, participants had an opportunity to lobby their congressional representatives on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Medicaid and AFT Healthcare’s “Every Child Needs a School Nurse” national campaign, which calls for a school nurse in every school.

The conference also featured a presentation by gang prevention specialist Ron “Cook” Barrett who shared what he has learned after 19 years working with youth.

“It’s important for people who work with children to be aware of the gang culture,” says Barrett. “Gangs aren’t just affecting inner-city kids. Gang activity is spreading to suburban and rural areas across the country,” he warned.

School officials must overcome the tendency to deny there is a problem in their schools.
“Every community problem is a school problem,” said Barrett.

The best way to confront the problem is to get educated about gang culture and why young people join gangs.

“Our youth are starving for structure. They are looking to fill a void, replacing things in their lives that used to be there for all of us,” he said. Young people join gangs for many reasons: fear, acceptance, protection, money, belonging, respect.

“As school health professionals, you must be proactive instead of reactive,” Barrett said.
School staff, especially health professionals, need to be aware of the signs that a student might be in a gang, including unexplained injuries or burns, markings and tattoos. Schools need to make sure staff has the proper training to identify any potential problem. Barrett told his audience they should start intervention immediately if they feel that the signs they see may be gang-related.

Early intervention is key, he said.

The goal should be to destroy the myth of the gang lifestyle and provide alternatives to gang activity, such as after-school programs, recreational activities and counseling.

“If we don’t grab these kids now, we will lose a generation,” said Barrett.