DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROD PACHECO, SUPERINTENDENT MILLER, CHIEF LEACH AND CLERGY LEADERS UNVEIL GANG PREVENTION PROGRAM

RIVERSIDE, CA - Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, Riverside Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Richard Miller, Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach and local clergy leaders have launched a gang prevention pilot program at Longfellow Elementary School in Riverside.

"We are seeing younger and younger children getting involved in gang activity," said District Attorney Rod Pacheco. "Our purpose is to prevent children from choosing the gang lifestyle that only results in the destruction of lives."

The program, called STAR (Success Through After School Resources), is a collaborative venture involving law enforcement, the faith-based community, educators, and community partners. The project is designed to help children at the earliest educational levels resist the lure and temptation of gangs, drugs, and criminality by providing after-school resources that will inspire and foster personal, social, and career success, as well as academic and educational achievement. The program will take place at Longfellow Elementary School which is located in the East Side community of the City of Riverside. At Longfellow Elementary, 91% of the students are classified as socio-economically disadvantaged, and 68% of the students are classified as English learners.

This year, the program will serve 80 children from kindergarten through 2nd grade. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office has committed the first $65,000, which comes from criminal defendants through asset forfeiture funds, to ensure the development and implementation of the STAR program. The Riverside Unified School District has committed to providing daily supervision, quality control, regular assessment of the STAR program and staff, staff training, curriculum improvements and modifications, snacks for the STAR participants, and use of facilities at Longfellow Elementary School.

Because family poverty can be associated as a risk factor for youth gang involvement, poor academic achievement, and as a hindrance for upward socioeconomic mobility, the Riverside Opportunity Center will provide parents of students participating in the STAR program with employability training and increased opportunities for job placement.

The STAR Program is a collaborative effort between various community partners such as the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, the Riverside Unified School District, the Riverside County Office of Education, the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside Opportunity Center, The Reverend Jerry Louder (New Jerusalem Christian Center), The Reverend Paul Mumford (New Joy Baptist Church), and the Riverside Clergy Association.