George attends after-school programs at Corazon.
There are currenlty 28 street gangs in Cicero, IL. Students there identified the three top gang-related problems in their community as drugs and alcohol, violence and grafitti.
George is 15 years old and likes to play sports, chess and shoot pool. He studies hard and has big dreams of becoming a lawyer or a doctor one day. Two years earlier, however George was a different person. At the age of 13 he was kicked out of school and in trouble with the law.
According to George, getting expelled and arrested was the worst and best thing that could have happened to him. It made him realize that he did not want to be a drop-out and that he didn’t want to spend his life in jail. George’s mother Maria also worried about the path that her son was on.
“I was very scared and I felt as though I was a bad mother,” said Maria. “I am very proud that he has become a better student and understands that gangs are no good.”
George turned to Corazon Community Services in Cicero, which provides social services to young people and families in the area. It is also the lead agency in charge of implementing the United Way Latino Initiative in Cicero as part of Cicero Youth Task Force.
Corazon’s programs serve youth ages 14 to 21 during non-school hours including after school, on holidays, weekends and in the summer. They assists youth in developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles by engaging them in constructive activities in an environment that reflects the cultures, languages, and communities from which they come.
“Corazon got me out of the gang-banging life,” said George. “Now I come here just to hang out or get help with my homework. I can talk to anyone about anything here and it makes me feel good to know I have real friends in the world. They made me more mature and gave me the ability to think for myself instead of having others think for me.”
