5) Description of initiative: The aim of the program is to decrease and eliminate all manifestations of violence and crime generated by young people of gangs, eradicate clashes between gangs and bring peace to the streets and schools of the North side of Mexico city. The progam “Skills’ Development and Training for Life” helps us to decrease risk factors and to fortify skills to solve problems in a non-violent way. This allows young pepople to return to their academic life. A model of education of 56 lessons prepare them for work and to do supportive community actions. At the end of this process, they get involved in Projects of Social Young Leading by suggesting self-managing measures for the young community to promote healthy habits, young culture, supportive economy, care of physic and social environment, access to information ands transparency. Doing this, we want youth community participates to better their conditions by admitting its problems and suggesting community strategies. The initiative is related to three different programs: 1.- “Promotion and Training on Human Rights and Peace Making” which aim is to know, promote and exercise Human Rights and peace making. 2.- “Information and Communication Technologies thorugh radio and audiovisual Production” that wants to bring closer new technologies and means for communication as a therapeutic tool to rise public awareness, and to promote Human Rights, young culture, social reality as power tools that help the beneficiaries to express themselves. 3.- “Employment Training” to move youth away from criminal spaces by giving them art and computing tools for self-employment and to generate their own productive projects bettering their economy and way of living.

6) Description of innovation: Our vision is unique: Instead of working against the generators of violence, we work with them and treat the violence problem at schools. We transform violent students into non-violent young nodes of leadership. We recognize the important role that can play a young student that in the past was violent and leader of a gang to make a change in the culture of violence.

The efforts of communities to eradicate the gangs and support their victims are not something new. However, we have restructured previous strategies on violence among youth. Old members of gangs have shown us to be more effective to promote the non-violence. The methodology is concentrated on leadership of gangs at schools what allows us to get into the neighborhoods and identify other young leaders. Then we go back to schools and begin the training on positive leaderships and try to eradicate the incorporation to criminal life when the students reach Middle School. That is why a lot of young beneficiaries have a positive influence on students that participate on organized violence. To work with gangs leaders is an effective strategy for the change because youth in risk will much better receive the advice of their mates than of school authorities. Politics of firm hand have constantly failed. Only in Mexico city it have been seen consequences such as physical and emotional damage, low registration at school what end up in lack of employment, personal and family suffering caused by imprisonments. The consequences in the rest of the population are also severe: young people under 25 years old commit 61% of the crimes of Mexico city. This number change to 90% in some areas of the city.

Firing and imprisoning gangs’ leaders are the actual efforts to better this situation. But these efforts tend more to be a punishment for rehabilitation and to reform young people than to promote positive habits and prevention of risks.

7) Delivery model: The Center for Community Development Aprendiendo a Vivir it is an important reference to Cauce Ciudadano A. C., because it is a strategic social space in the local environment: • It receive adolescents and young people (groups that show a high index of return for the social work made with them). • It encourages the creation of healthy spaces for a pacific coexistance. • It contributes to fortify the self-managing capacity of young people. • It helps to create skills to live in democracy and peace.

The intervention model is as follows:

1. I work on the streets, outside schools, trying to detect groups and gangs in risk to commit crimes and then, make them trust and integrate them to ludic play-roles inside Cauce Ciudadano A.C. With this intervention values such as solidarity, trust and respect are generated. 2. In the first contact with Cauce at its Center of Community Development, it is presented the plan for work and it is made a situational map, a test of risk factors to clasify them and the level of intervention. 3. In the second contact, a plan and a schedule are made with all the participants of Habilidades para la Vida. All the participants develop ten skills in pairs with a perspective of gender, a reclasification of the set of values and life’s project. 4. In the third contact, an identification of leaderships is made. We give fresh impetus inside the activities of Cauce Ciudadano A.C 5. Selection of any therapeutic, work or ludic activity organized by Cauce Ciudadano A.C. 6. Involvement and canalization of cases to specialized organizations. 7. Monitoring of the registed cases.

8) Key operational partnerships: Fundacion Rostros y Voces, Fundacion General Electric, International Youth Foundation: financing and monitoring of the program Skills’ Development for life with young men and women of gangs, CAPAS-OCÚPATE, Commission of Human Rights of the Federal District: Financing and co- participation in the development of methodologies for the Education for the Peace, Universidad Autonoma de la Ciudad de Mexico: Advising and Volunteering, Serivicios a la Juventud A.C and RIE Red de Instituciones Especializadas en desarrollo y juventud: Alllies, Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs: Financing and ally, Centro de Estudios en Seguridad Ciudadana Universidad de Chile: Visibility and advising, , Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres: Financing, Instituto de las Mujeres del Distrito Federal and Instituto de la Juventud del Distrito Federal: Connections and development of public politics, Instituto Histraduth de Israel: Advising, Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo Social: Financing, Sociedad Mexicana Pro Derechos de la Mujer SEMILLAS: Financing. At Cauce we see the partners as strategic allies. With them it is possible to make sinergies, to share and to fortify the work with young people.

9) Financial model: We take advantage of the governamental program that awards welfare grants for youth to use them as mean, not as purpose, and to use them as a seed capital.

We illustrate with the figures of 2005 and 2006 fianacial years: Colaboration with Fundacion Rostros y Voces, Fundacion General Electric to operate de program Skills for Life $140,000.00, Co-investment Social INDESOL to get $154,000.00. The process for Seed Grants for the development Information and Communication Technologies continues. www.radiosextumismo.org $100,000.00. Collaboration Agreement with Instituto de las Mujeres, $546,000.00 During 2006 the resources have been improved by donations and grants with the co-investment of local organizations and servicies’ sales, $1,360,000.00. This allowed us to help 980 young people.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 9%

          • Financing: At the moment the initiative is maintained by the agreement with Fundacion Rostros y Voces, General Electric and Youth Foundation. This agreement covers the 50% The initiatives of Protagonismo Social Juvenil are convered in a 50% by ASHOKA Avancemos; the others by servicies’ sales, courses and advising to local governments.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: At the biginning we only worked with 2 gangs in High Schools of the North side of the city. Today we work with 12 gangs in 11 High Schools, 5 Middle Schools and 14 neighbourhoods from the North and East sides of Mexico city. In the first year we saw only 66 young people from gangs. The directly total beneficiary young population in the last five years was 2,229.

          • Number of clients in past year: During 2006 we directly saw 980 young men and women, indirectly more than 2,700 if you think in the first development circle: the family. If we take into account the third development circle, the educational community, 45,000.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: 1. To register the model as one of intervention for the prevention of youth crime before the Secretary of Public Education, the Secretary of Health and the Secreatry of Federal and Local Public Security. 2. That young people know, use and exercise the Education for Peache and Human Rights as a tool for mediation and dialogue contrstruction among different young actors. 3. Identification of young leaderships for community action. 4. Reconstraction of life’s process of young people of gangs and their families. 5. To copy the model of TIC’S as a model of therapeutic service for 14 to 18 year old young women in prison.

12) Origin of the initiative: It is important to understand my personal life. When I was 7 years old I used to sell candies at school. I needed the money to buy a pair of boots to play soccer. With the money I got from the sales, I bought y first pair, but the school authorities discovered me and they didn’t allow me to continue with my bussiness. Then the teachers gave candies to sell and a cooperative was created. I admit that everthing was not that bad in the end. My first day at the post-school vocational training, September 2nd, 1987, my NIKE shoes were robbed. When I got inside the classroom I realized that I was not the only one. So, we got together and confronted the thieves. That was the beginning of a young life full of violence in which I lost lot of friends and classmates. On March 23rd, 2000, a classmate was murdered: Carlos Guadalupe. For me this was a starting point for a new life. It broke any chance for a reply and finally I understood that “EYE FOR EYE AND TEETH OF TEETH AND ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL END UP TOOTHLESS AND BLIND IN ONE EYE”. My family: My mother is a country person that learnt how to reed on the knees of someone. She never went to school and she worked since she was 4 years old. She did not know how to control me. Today I am very thankful with her for bringing me to life. The methodology: Dr. Rogelio Rea Castañeda always trusted on me and thought I could be different and that my leadership could be used positively. He brought us together in 1988 and then he advised us on the model for Skills for Life to prevent and take care of youth violence.

Contact Information:
Carlos  Cruz
Ashoka Fellow
Emprendedor Social
Cauce Ciudadano A.C
(ONG)
Mexico
Website: www.cauceciudadano.org.mx