Get informed : Violence

Follow your hunches. You may suspect that a friend is a member of a street gang. There are some things in particular that may arouse your suspicions.

For example, your friend:

• Has clothes or objects associated with a gang
• Has valuable objects that they couldn’t afford before
• Behaves violently
• Often has injuries they can’t easily explain
• Only communicates by pager of cell phone
• Is often absent from school or runs away from home

Before jumping to conclusions, take the time to check things out. There may be explanations other than gang membership.

Call for help. Your friend may have already talked about their gang membership or their desire to quit their gang. Here are some things to try to help them:

• Tell them your worries
• Listen to what they have to say, without judging them or preaching to them
• Give them time to think things over
• Help them identify the advantages and disadvantages of staying and quitting their gang
• Ask them about what’s keeping them from quitting the gang (fear or reprisals, debts, few friends outside the gang)
• Suggest that they seek professional help (school, CLSC, Tel-jeunes counsellors) or find out about programs intended to help people quit gangs
• Accompany them when they get help

Your limits. No one has the power to extract someone from a gang, especially against their will. Do you sometimes feel that your willpower is stronger than theirs? Don’t forget that you have to respect your own limits. You can help your friend, but you can’t do everything for them. You shouldn’t take all the responsibility for the situation and put yourself in danger.