Gilroy
– Leaders and youth in Gilroy’s neighboring cities – but not in
Gilroy – will participate next week in a nationwide event promoting
after-school programs for kids. But Gilroy city officials say
options for youth in Gilroy are plentiful and effective.
Gilroy – Leaders and youth in Gilroy’s neighboring cities – but not in Gilroy – will participate next week in a nationwide event promoting after-school programs for kids. But Gilroy city officials say options for youth in Gilroy are plentiful and effective.
Both Morgan Hill and Hollister are taking part in the fifth annual Lights On Afterschool, a rally Oct. 14 encouraging youth, teachers, parents, youth organizations and local officials to promote youth programs, so kids whose parents work full time have a place to go when school lets out for the day.
Mayor Al Pinheiro said he was not aware of the program, but he doesn’t see youth crime in Gilroy as an alarming problem.
“That’s why we have places like the (Gilroy Community) Youth Center, where some of the youth can spend time doing productive things,” he said. “I don’t think youth crime here is more of a problem than any place else. We’ve done good work with different community groups and our gang task force.”
The Gilroy Gang Task Force was created 10 years ago by then-mayor Don Gage in an effort to curb gang activity.
Although the Gilroy Police Department did not have statistics immediately available about the city’s youth-related crime, Capt. Debbie Moore said after-school programs are a good way to prevent unproductive behavior.
“There is a higher percentage of crimes that occur after school that can be attributed to school-aged children,” Moore said. “The whole idea of programs after school is to have children supervised and involved in things, because many times both parents are working and the kids are often left alone.”
City councilman Charlie Morales, a strong advocate for the youth programs and facilities, said youth crime statistics in Gilroy have gone down considerably since he became a council member in 1992.
“In comparison to some of our surrounding communities like Salinas, we’ve done a really good job of keeping that problem under control,” he said. “But it’s never enough. You can always do more.”
Gilroy’s youth center, 7400 Railroad St., offers programs for youth ages 6 to 18, including field trips, tutoring, arts and crafts, sports, games and guest speakers, said recreation supervisor Gayle Glines. The city also offers several paid instruction programs such as sports, arts, drama and dance.
The programs are intended to get youth involved in positive, social settings, so they’re not home alone watching television, or worse, getting involved in crime or drugs, Glines said.
“Preventing youth crime is what created the whole recreational movement historically,” she said. “Youth need alternatives to hanging out by themselves. They need adult supervision, but we don’t want it to be like school because they’ve been there all day. They need that release, but it needs to be a constructive release.”
In a few weeks, the center will open its junior high program Tuesdays and Thursdays at Brownell Middle School and Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Ascencion Solorsano Middle School, Glines said. In its second year, the program offers activities designed specifically for middle school-aged youth as well as tutoring and homework help.
Academic assistance also is available at the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA), which is housed at the youth center.
“That’s the number one priority for our after-school programs – to get homework done,” Glines said. “Once that’s done, then the kids go do other activities.”
Councilman Craig Gartman and Jeff Orth, a member of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, are in the early stages of developing a new center for Gilroy teens. Gartman and Orth have been researching locations, funding possibilities and other concepts for the center.
