Parents Handbook on Gangs

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Dear Friend,

We invite you to join with the Gang Prevention Subcommittee (GPS) for an exciting new era in concept building & community partnerships. You can help support our youth and families by volunteering your time and talents to foster a new phase of gang prevention through our activities, events and initiatives. Please join the GPS and become a part of one of the fastest growing supporting agencies in Nevada. GPS’s vision is to continue its journey in partnership with local citizens and supporting agencies

and organizations.

Please Contact Us by Telephone or Email for Further Information. 702.828.5609

Approximately 65-75% of juveniles incarcerated suffer from some form of mental illness. A large percentage of those juveniles suffer with co-existing drug addictions. Approximately 90% either have or are affiliated with a religious, faith-based  background.

Gangs, Addictions, & Mental Health

Bringing awareness and highlighting common denominators that bridge Mental health=Dual diagnosis=Addictions=Society=Children & adults=Crime= Gangs=Law enforcement=Courts=Detention & prisons

* Mental Illness Does Not Discriminate:

People of all racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic groups, and backgrounds experience mental illness. Mental illness impacts both men and women, all ages, young and old, rich and poor.  Mental illnesses are biological and are not character defects. They can affect a person’s mood, their feelings, the way they think, and how they relate to others. Mental health problems such as depression account for nearly half of all disability among young people between the ages of 10 and 24. Mental health disorders may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual components. Despite growing knowledge of how to diagnose and treat mental illnesses, myths and misperceptions about these disorders persist, leading to stigma and discrimination toward those who suffer from them. Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, it is becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

* Gangs, Youth, Adult- Offenders: Gangs Are Everywhere:

Statistics often show Gang members have low self-esteem, and low psychosocial health, where Gang member affiliation/wannabe's have the lowest self-esteem, and less ability to resist peer pressure. One area of notable concern among policymakers for its co-occurrence with psychological abnormalities in the convicted youth offender population is substance abuse. Youth offenders are often mentally ill in some way, with an estimated two-thirds of juvenile delinquents possess some sort of mental or psychological problem, and a similar percentage of re-entries into the juvenile justice system are marked for treatment. What makes these elevated rates of mental illness so unfortunate is the fact they often occur alongside other problems that can obscure the need to address serious those chronic mental deficiencies. Drug abuse cases and reports of mental health complications are highly related, and extremely likely to occur together, and develop within a short amount of time. The number of incarcerated men and women with severe mental illness has grown so tremendously in the last few decades that detention centers and prisons may now be one of the largest mental health providers in the United States.

*Addictions; The Challenge of Dual Diagnosis

Mental illness and drug addiction often occur together. This condition of dual diagnosis presents a challenge to physicians. The patient has two brain diseases that influence one another, and which both need treatment. But why do mental illness and substance abuse so often occur together? Long-term substance abuse, in particular, has been linked to anxiety, depression, and paranoia. Dual diagnosis is common yet difficult to treat. Addiction of all types to nicotine, alcohol and drugs is often found in people with a wide variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders, unipolar and bipolar depression, schizophrenia, borderline and other personality disorders. The AMA (American Psychiatric Association) classified pathological gambling as a mental illness in 1980. It is listed under the Impulsive Control Disorder in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).