Parents and teachers are getting a chance to learn how to spot gang activity among their children before it's too late. The growing gang problem has become a hot topic in the valley in recent months.
Now, Metro plans to answer your questions face-to-face during a gang awareness meeting Wednesday. It will be held at Palo Verde High School in Summerlin. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
One of the reasons Metro is holding the meeting there is because of the recent act of school violence that left one student dead.
Metro says they're ready to help parents take a more pro-active approach in their child's life. The real question is whether parents are willing to take the time to learn.
Still fresh in the minds of many — the news that 15-year-old student Chris Privett was killed in a drive-by shooting outside Palo Verde High School. Since then, concern over the valley's growing gang problem has reached new heights.
It's a constant worry for single mother of three, Margarita Flores. She works full-time and any free time she has she spends with her children — but she takes one step further.
“One thing I do constantly is search his drawers, backpack,” said Flores.
But like most kids, her kids make mistakes. Not too long ago, she found drugs in her 14-year-old son's backpack — and made the hardest decision of her life. She turned him in to police to teach him the consequences of his actions.
“It hurt me very much but I felt I had to do it,” she said.
Though she knows not every parent will agree with her tough love decision, she says this is the type of involvement from parents that is missing.
But now parents have the chance to step up to the plate. Metro is holding a gang awareness meeting where they will teach parents the warning signs to look for in their children. Everything from the styles and colors of clothes they wear to their behavior.
Vice president of the Clark County School District board of trustees, Terri Janison, says for parents — there's no excuse to miss an opportunity like this. “They are your children. You need to stand up and take responsibility for those children — good or bad.”
She says even if your kids aren't involved with the wrong crowd, you need to know the kind of environment they deal with everyday.
Margarita Flores plans on being there and says it's one more tool to make her be a better parent and hopefully prevent scenes like what happened to Chris Privett from happening again.
In addition to officers from the gang unit, narcotics officers will be there to discuss the current drug trend in teens. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday. It is open to anyone over the age of 18.
Email your comments to Reporter Melissa Duran.
