May 10, 2008

Moving Chronicles(08v2) Sunnyvale

(c) copyright, View from Silicon Valley, 2008.  All rights reserved.



Once forced to look for a new place to live, among the first decisions we made was to ignore Mountain View.  With oodles of funny money and real estate lust emanating from Google's environs, it makes little sense for non-Googlers to consider Mountain View as a rental option.

Going south from my current office instead of north, you quickly end up in Sunnyvale.  It's always been central but, due to it's proximity now to Google, Yahoo and Apple, old Sunnyvale boxes have become a trendy choice for flippers.  Newly-minted stock-option millionaires without children may not care that most Sunnyvale schools are marginal, at best.  The important point from our perspective, however, is that portions of Sunnyvale are zoned for Cupertino schools.

Before we started to look too seriously in Sunnyvale, we came across this 2005-era newspaper article showing Sunnyvale dealt with gangs as far back as 1997.  Yikes!  Who even knew there were gangs in Silicon Valley?

We believe the 2005-era gang issue was isolated to a relatively few schools.  We still might end up in Sunnyvale (and we looked at a Sunnyvale rental this week), but we will be extremely(!) careful about the school and neighborhood.  As always, we recommend readers think carefully and decide for themselves...
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April 27, 2005

Gang Related: Sunnyvale is trying to prevent gang involvement
By Jason Goldman-Hall

Sunnyvale was named one of the top five safest cities in the United States in 2004. That statistic, however, is little comfort to middle school and high school students who must look over their shoulders every time they step out of their homes in fear of being harassed, beaten or even killed by someone wearing a different color than themselves.

For "Anne"--who didn't want her real name used--the streets of Sunnyvale have not been safe since she was 11 years old. That's when she began hanging out with the street gangs in her neighborhood near Columbia Middle School.

Like many of her classmates and neighbors, she was drawn into the gang culture that exists unnoticed by many in Sunnyvale, a world of red vs. blue retribution and territory battles.

"Anywhere you go, you know these people; you know they're going to be looking for you," Anne says.

When it comes to gangs and crime, Sunnyvale isn't often mentioned in the same breath as cities like San Jose, San Francisco and East Palo Alto. But with an influx of activity from San Jose, declining after-school activities and some neighborhoods where gangs are a constant influence on life, many in the community are beginning to take notice of the problem.

Gang deterrent efforts are under way in Sunnyvale, including the after-school boxing program at Columbia Middle School, the department of public safety's gang enforcement team and an upcoming series of summer workshops for "at-risk" students at the Columbia Neighborhood Center. (BTW, Columbia Middle feeds into Fremont High.)

"We've been proactive so far, and we've been dodging a bullet, so to speak," says Detective Jose Ramirez, who runs the Columbia boxing program and has seen the increase in gang activity in San Jose. "But you wonder when it's going to overflow into Sunnyvale."

Red vs. blue (We thought this section was a nice tutorial...)
Anne first saw gangs around her home when she was growing up in the northeast part of Sunnyvale. She began hanging out with the members socially. Within three years, as she prepared to enter Fremont High School, that grew into full involvement in Sunnyvale Sur Trece, a branch of the Sureño street gang. "Sur" stands for "Southern United Raza," the full name of the Sureño gang. "Trece," Spanish for 13, refers to the 13th letter of the alphabet, M, or Mexican Mafia. Sureño gangs identify with the color blue.

The Sureño gang was formed in California prisons and is traditionally associated with gang members born in Mexico.

The Sureño's red rivals, the Norteño gang, were also formed in prison, as a reaction to the Mexican Mafia's influence. In Sunnyvale, the Norteño gang is called Varrio Via Sol, or roughly "City of the Sun."

While both gangs can be found throughout Sunnyvale, the areas around Columbia Middle School are primarily Sureño, and the Lakewood and Fairwood areas are primarily Norteño.
Anne was involved in vandalism, violence and drug use during her involvement with SST and ended up dropping out of Fremont High School before graduating.

"I never saw how my mom was suffering because of the things I was doing. I was constantly running away or coming home drunk or high or just not right," she says.

Getting into gangs may be an easy process for middle school students, but getting out can be a much harder journey.

Anne's involvement came to an end 2 1/2 years ago in the kind of life-altering event many say it takes to get a gang member out of the lifestyle.

On Nov. 18, 2002, a close friend and fellow gang member was shot and killed by Norteño gang members.

Anne knew it was time to get out.
She distanced herself from her old life, but it was not as quick to fade into memory as she would have liked.

"When you get out, you make more enemies," she says. "Your friends don't stay your friends; they start to talk about you. Some of them hate you because you were able to get out."

Although some of her former friends are now enemies, some of her former enemies have become acquaintances through city programs designed to help students get away from the gang lifestyle.

One of those former students is 17-year-old former Norteño "John," who also asked that his real name not be used. John grew up in the Fairwood neighborhood, traditionally a "red" area.

For him, what began as pickup football games with gang members and their siblings grew into full-blown involvement around eighth grade at Columbia Middle School. John says he began getting into fights with rival gang members, all in an effort to prevent them from disrespecting his home territory.

"If I was on a bus, going to a mall somewhere, and I saw someone wearing blue, I had to say something; I couldn't let them disrespect me," he says.

He says he originally got involved because he was looking for a family that supported him. John was adopted by the parents who raised him and says that left him questioning who his real family was and who he could trust. He found that trust and family in his neighborhood gang.

John was expelled from Fremont High School during his time with the VVS and spent his days starting fights with rivals over colors and turf.

And while it was a death that turned Anne from the lifestyle, it was the exact opposite that did it for John. The birth of his first daughter convinced him to change his ways.

"I wanted my daughter to be safe. I didn't want to get involved and then have there be a drive-by shooting and have her get killed. Even though I'd know that someone else pulled the trigger, I would feel like I had killed her," he says.

John is studying to pass his General Educational Development test in May so he can get a job, attend a community college and raise his daughter. He says it was easy to get out of the lifestyle because he was determined. He wasn't going to let anything stop him from giving his daughter a safe upbringing.

But even though he's no longer part of a gang, John says he's not free of the feelings he had when he was in.

"If I see blues, I still flashback. I don't beat anyone up, but it still makes me upset," he says.

Getting in the ring
Getting out of gangs is never a simple process, so the city of Sunnyvale is trying to prevent youth from joining and help existing members transition out.

In addition to providing alternatives to gangs, the programs in the city of Sunnyvale are designed to give existing gang members a safe haven to go to, to aide their transition out of the destructive lifestyle.

To help get herself involved in positive, safe activities, Anne began attending Columbia Middle School's after-school boxing program at the beginning of the year.

"When I'm walking to the program, I have to look over my shoulder, but when I'm inside here, I don't have to," she says. "It's nice to have someplace near my house that's safe to go."

She originally started attending to make sure her younger brother--also involved in gang activity--was going as he told their mother he was. But not long after walking through the gym doors, Anne's love of boxing had her pounding speed bags and running laps to get in shape and train.

In April 2004, the boxing program started as a gang deterrent for Sunnyvale schoolchildren. Led by Detective Jose Ramirez from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety--a former gold medal boxer in the police Olympics--and by Columbia caseworker Laurie Karzen, the program now has 250 registered participants, many of them at risk of gang activity.

"They can come in and say, 'I don't have to look over my shoulder; I can be myself; I can check my mask at the door,' " Karzen says.

The boxing program serves a number of needs in the community. In an era where many extracurricular activities are dying due to budget cuts, the program--thanks to more than $15,000 in donated equipment from Advanced Micro Devices--provides an after-school activity free of charge to participants. It also provides a workout for children who may not have the time or money to take part in other organized sports.

The program provides strong, positive role models and a way for young people to safely vent their frustrations.

"Gang members used to hang around here, and the kids would see them and look up to them. But when the kids come to the boxing program, they see other people they can look up to," Anne says. "Gang members used to come around here all tweaked out and messed up, but since the program started, they stopped coming around here."

"We're dealing with a lot of kids who are followers, and if they weren't in here, they'd be out on the streets," Ramirez says. "All I know is that nine hours of the week, the kids are in here and not out getting in trouble."

It also gives social workers like Karzen a chance to meet at-risk students and get them help beyond teaching them a sport. She uses her involvement with the program to get information out about other community efforts, health care and support for children at risk for gang activity or trying to get out of the lifestyle.

Breaking free
The journey out of gang life varies depending on the person involved, but it commonly requires a major event as a catalyst.

Few in Sunnyvale know this better than Carlos Cortez, gang prevention facilitator for Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous. Cortez got involved in the boxing program after meeting caseworker Karzen.

Cortez, 36, who recently celebrated the birth of his first son, is a reformed gang member with the stories, street smarts and scars to show for it.

Cortez spent 23 years--two-thirds of his life--as a member of the Sureño gang, much of it as a "soldier."

"I was 9 years old when I pulled my first trigger," Cortez says.

After spending more than a decade in state prisons for his crimes, Cortez joined Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous, a program run by former gang members who have served time and want to make a difference in the community. There are only a handful of members currently out of prison and working. Cortez is the only one in Northern California.

Karzen says Sunnyvale is lucky to have Cortez because he can speak from experiences that very few live to talk about.

"I just keep it real; I don't try to sugarcoat anything," Cortez says. "I just speak from my own experiences."

Cortez says he finally chose to get out of his gang after a number of attacks in prison in which none of his "friends" came to his aid. He has scars on his face and arms from his time as a soldier, and he shows them to at-risk students.
"The gang lifestyle is no joke; it will destroy your life; it will destroy your family," Cortez says. "It's probably one of the worst addictions this world has ever seen."

Cortez says although Sunnyvale is still low-key compared to Southern California--where gang activity involves much more than fights on buses and tagging--the danger to participants is just as real. Hardcore gang members and "wannabes" alike are capable of hurting or killing others in the name of their chosen side.

"It's the real thing as far as the danger and the destruction goes," Cortez says.

Like Ramirez, Cortez was also a top boxer once, but his involvement with Columbia is primarily as a contact for students, someone who has been through the worst and survived.

Cortez has even connected with Norteños members like John through the program--putting aside hatred of the enemy that once ran deep.

"We know where we come from, and even though he was a Sureño and I was a Norteño, we can put that aside," John says.

Shadow war
The city of Sunnyvale has long fought the gang battle after the fact. Detectives and officers have been aware of gang trouble in Sunnyvale for years, but it wasn't until the late '90s that programs were put in place to combat the problem. Because of the nature of gang crimes, connections to gangs are not revealed until after an investigation is completed.

Gang activity in Sunnyvale is primarily focused on the Hispanic Norteño and Sureño gangs, but there has been activity from other ethnic groups in the past. Almost two years ago, a homicide at a Sunnyvale club that was found to be part of a dispute between rival Vietnamese gangs.

In 1997, the department of public safety started the gang enforcement team. By 2000, the team's involvement with gangs had begun to wane; meetings weren't held as often, and eventually the city began to see the effects of its non-involvement. Eight months ago, in response to a rise in gang-related crimes in the South Bay, the department revitalized the program. There are now 18 officers who receive additional training each year to act as gang enforcement officers.

Their duties include investigating possible gang activity, contacting known or suspected gang members and assisting in other investigations. The goal is to develop proactive gang deterrent activities, to catch problems before they develop--before cycles of violent behavior begin.

Lt. Marty Dale--who has been with the gang enforcement team since its inception and is now one of its leaders--says the team has become more important lately because there has been an increase in gang activity.

Ramirez--who specifically investigates gang crimes in Sunnyvale--says San Jose is seeing a resurgence of violence between gangs, and that is beginning to filter into Sunnyvale. The "assaultive" behavior often comes in cycles, as one gang attacks another in response to an attack from the other side.

"Once a cycle starts, unless something interrupts it--like a murder--the gangs continue retribution after arrests," Dale says.

Much of the gang enforcement team's activities involve contacting gang members to develop a working relationship with them in hopes of getting information from them on other crimes.

In addition to the team, the department has neighborhood resource officers in Sunnyvale schools that see students on a regular basis and can report back on any trends they see forming, especially in middle schools, where most gang activity begins. It's no coincidence that many activities are focused on middle school children. Cortez says that when he was a gang member, middle schools are where they recruited most heavily.

"If someone is going to have problems in high school, we try to catch them before they get there," says Capt. Craig Farley with the public safety department.

Winning the battle and the war
People involved in Sunnyvale's gang deterrent efforts are optimistic about their work, but there is always the question of whether or not it will help down the road. Because there are so many factors that lead to gang activity, the road to prevention is not a straight, narrow path.

Ramirez says the gang enforcement team and his own investigations are a step forward because they're allowing the city of Sunnyvale to recognize trends in gang activity and identify the gang members in town. Ramirez himself grew up in East San Jose and witnessed gang activity in his neighborhood and high school.

"It's probably made me a more effective officer and a more effective gang detective," he says.

"I do believe that the boxing program and the team they've put together is putting a dent in it," Cortez says. "If I had the same kind of people working with me, I wouldn't have become a gang member. The people in the program show the kids that they care about them. Sunnyvale's very lucky to have a program like that."

But more needs to be done. Boxing does not appeal to all students.

After this school year ends, the Columbia Neighborhood Center--next to the middle school--is beginning a series of summer workshops for at-risk students. A $1,500 grant from the Sunnyvale Rotary Club made the program possible, and it's being run as a partnership with the Mexican-American Community Services Agency. The workshops will be a series of counseling sessions with students who will be referred to the program by social workers like Laurie Karzen.

"It's a good dovetail to the boxing program. They've got a lot of kids in there that they're trying to steer in the right direction, and this will be a good complement to that," says Columbia Neighborhood Center manager Linda Kim.

Karzen and Ramirez say that in addition to reaching at-risk kids, educating parents is crucial to winning the battle against gangs. Ramirez wants parents to know what to look for when it comes to clothing and color choices for gang members, and to that end, he conducts talks and seminars with various community groups as part of his public safety duties.

But the most important factor is reaching youth. By giving them a better set of options and activities, Sunnyvale can prevent the growth of gangs in town.

Ramirez says that while he is helping a small number of students through the boxing program, there are a lot more out there that need to be reached if a real change is going to happen.

"People always say, 'If I can just save one kid ...' but I don't think like that--I want to save more than one," he says.