Sunnyside Community Comes Together Against Gangs

Tools

Story Published: Sep 21, 2009 at 11:38 PM PDT

By Stacy Lilienthal

Watch the story
SUNNYSIDE -- They've been meeting for months and now they have results. The Sunnyside community has been coming together against gangs and the changes they've been making may be what's making a difference there.

We've been showing you the murals. It's one of a few things Sunnyside is doing to fight gang activity, and it's working.

"Have you guys notice a decrease in gang activity lately?" Action News asked Sunnyside Police Deputy Chief, Phil Schenck. "I think we've noticed a decrease in almost all crime," he replied. The department noticed about a quarter drop in serious crime. And extra meetings are part of the reason.

As many as 150 people have been meeting since February coming up with ideas. So far they've been sprucing up neighborhoods and coming up with activities to keep kids busy.

Bikes might be another solution. A new program will kick off in the next week. Kids age 8 to 18 will be taught how to fix donated or unclaimed bikes, then they'll have to pay it forward by teaching other kids how to fix bikes. In the end they'll get to keep one.

More ideas are on the way. The city hopes to start more block watches and get parents more involved in watching over kids on their blocks. They also hope to start intervention teams in schools and neighborhoods to prevent gang activity before it starts.

The group sends out meeting notices to the community on Nixle. To sign up, click on our links. There's a gang outreach meeting in Yakima Tuesday at 1:30.

Upload directly from your mobile device.

Learn how

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

Stay Connected