Boys & Girls Clubs, other after-school programs deserve your support

Several years ago at a crime prevention seminar in Thousand Oaks, an expert on gangs in L.A. County said there was a direct relationship between Proposition 13 and the proliferation of gangs. Prop. 13, he said, killed various after-school programs in public schools. Without organized activities to keep them busy after school, the door was open for young people to make bad decisions.

While nobody is suggesting we rescind Proposition 13, society is paying dearly for the growth of gangs.

Gangs contribute to the use and distribution of drugs. Members of gangs murder their rivals and they often shoot innocent bystanders.

Parts of Los Angeles and other Southern California communities are like war zones. People are intimidated and afraid to contact the police because they fear retaliation.

It isn’t just inner-city children who are at risk. It’s naïve and irresponsible for people in affluent areas like ours to close their eyes and imagine that their children are immune from making bad decisions. Idle time for teenagers is dangerous everywhere because it can lead to poor choices—concerning friends, sex, drugs and alcohol.

That’s why we heartily endorse Boys & Girls Clubs or similar after-school programs. If young people have a place to go after school—to enjoy healthy activities with friends or to study—they will reap the rewards.

Latchkey children aren’t the only youngsters who will benefit. Supervised recreation or study time after school will help all kids.

Organized after-school programs deserve your support.