OBJECTIVES

Homies Unidos is “dedicated to providing educational and employment opportunities for gang-affiliated youth (ages 8-35), so that they can find ways out of their violent lifestyles.”

BACKGROUND

This project was created in 1996 by rival gang members who came together to seek a healthier, safer alternative to gang life.

SCOPE

Both peer educators and general project participants are members of various gangs in the San Salvador area of El Salvador.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Educational:

• Training local gang members or ex-gang members as peer educators.
• Educational workshops and weekend retreats.

Employment Opportunities:

• The project staff assist gang members in developing employment options.
• An attempt is made to place HU “graduates” in available staff positions.

Health-Related Programs:

• Blood-typing Program- if injured.
• Vaccination Program- many participants have not received inoculations.

MANAGEMENT FEATURES

Strategy

Using youth from the target gang-affiliated population, HU is not only building a more youth-friendly program, but also helping to develop the youth and therefore providing them with life alternatives

Capacity-Building

The project is committed to developing youth leadership among youth in the target population, and training them to become the project “experts”. HU youth serve as peer educators, board members, fundraisers and program staff.

Mobilizing Resources

As the project utilizes previous gang members as volunteers and staff, there is a built-in “motivation” for project participants to come back and contribute to the project. In fact, the health-related component of the project was initiated and is managed by an ex-gang member and graduate of HU.

Managerial Leadership

As few ASRH programs exist which specifically target gang-affiliated youth, HU will serve as an important model for development in this area. Its youth-friendly approach is a critical aspect to be considered.

EVALUATION FINDING

Evaluation data was not available at the time of this writing.