The newly founded Seattle King County Gang Prevention and Outreach Work Group says its goal is to collect anecdotal data from youth, analytical data from service providers, and statistical data from a hired consultant, then give it to the Seattle City Council next month.

"We are fighting against the national buzz about gang activity, that all kids are a public safety issue," said Darryl Cook, the deputy director of the organization Reinvesting in Youth. "Our focus here is not 'Kids are bad.' We are not profiling the kids, but empowering them, with the survey. We want to know what their schools are looking like, and what bullying and recruitment is going on."

Several people at the meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center gave impassioned viewpoints on area gang violence. Some suggestions ruffled others. For instance, a few speakers suggested school kids get jobs to keep off the streets and learn to make money honestly. Others countered that they are kids and should spend the extra time they have focusing on schoolwork so they do not drop out.

The common denominator in the audience was of frustration with the ongoing violence between armed and dangerous ever-younger youth in their streets, and the perceived blunt instruments that bureaucracies are armed with to break that cycle.

Delfino Munoz, instructional assistant for Seattle Schools at Denny/Sealth, said kids fall through the cracks between middle school and high school.

"We're seeing much younger kids getting involved in gang activity," Munoz said. "The dropouts influence their cousins and younger friends in the fifth grade. Those kids become wanna-be's. This raises the ante. By middle school it's too late (to reach them.) Zero-tolerance is kicking kids out of schools. They are getting their education from the streets, not from the teachers. I say, 'Kick 'em in, not out!'"

Renae Gaines, the community coordinator of Stop Drinking and Start Thinking Coalition at Madison Middle School, said she pointed to the allure of the big money a child can make selling drugs.

"These 12-14 year-olds don't want $10. They want $300-$400," she said. "They want the (Nike brand) Air Force One jackets. If it's just Mom at home, she's busy working long hours, and can't afford that."

An economics teacher added, "They are choosing the 'fast-money option.' I tell them, 'you can earn millions, legally, if you stay in school and learn.' My class is elective, and does not attract enough students."

Another teacher said her 7 year-old granddaughter is afraid to play outside when she sees gang members hanging out around the perimeter of Delridge Park.

"The library should be a place of warmth and light, somewhere quiet to go," said a librarian at the Delridge branch. "But the gang members who used to hang around the parking lot now come inside."

After the presentation she mentioned seeing young kids in the library's youth section carrying knives.

James Staples, juvenile rehabilitation coordinator, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services said it was the "system."

"It doesn't listen to the people - who are right here in this room - who can solve the problems," he said. "Those are our babies dying. Our communities need housing, law enforcement, and religion."

A woman said, "It's not just guys in gangs. It's girls too. I hear them (defend) members in their gang saying, 'They're my family. They will protect me.' These are gang members, not parents. They need to come back to their real families."

A man, who seemed very frustrated, stood up and added, "This is tribalism in young kids. They pull the trigger instead of talk."

For more information on upcoming meetings, contact: Camilla.Campbell@kingcounty.org

Steve Shay may be reached at steves@robinsonnews.com