From Street Gang to Service Industry in Panama

Summary: As 2015 comes to a close, Esperanza has a lot of wonderful news to share: all a direct result of your commitment to give Casco Viejo's at-risk young men a real opportunity to permanently integrate into their community.

We are currently in Phase II of our timeline, focusing on maintenance of individual and group successes. Now that all three groups have graduated, this phase is all about keeping new jobs, not doing drugs, and avoiding arrest. No matter how good an eight-week gang intervention program is, without serious follow-up by trained counselors and social workers, the change won't last long. So in a lot of ways, this phase is the least visible yet...but that doesn't mean fascinating things aren't happening every day:

1. Esperanza Social Venture Club Is Growing Up

While some graduates opt for traditional labor insertion in any one of our neighborhoods' various supporting businesses, others choose for the entrepreneurial route -- a natural fit considering the original impulses and personal strengths that inspired these young men to a high-risk lifestyle were strong and community-oriented in the first place. Upon entering the Social Venture Club, entrepreneurs are paired up with mentors who accompany them through the business development process. Esperanza has always had an inspiring group of neighbors and business leaders who volunteer their time to become mentors. But we never quite knew what characterized the most successful of those partnerships...

Until we commissioned an internal report by Costa Rican entrepreneurial expert Roy Retana Campos, to build a first-of-its-kind success framework for our unique mentorship program. Finally, the intangible aspects of what makes our community "tick" are beginning to come alive. And we believe the results of this study will have a place in history as Esperanza Social Venture Club, one of the world's most innovative "social impact funds," continues to mature. Just last month, we approved a second round of funding for one graduate and his seafood distribution company. Read MORE Here

2. Sharing Our Stories With The World

One of the unforeseen challenges of success with Esperanza has been our relationship with the media. While one might think that "any press is good press," we have found that nothing in quite so straightforward in the sensitive world in which we work. To streamline our interactions with the press, we have developed a Communications Department and are pleased to share our most recent published posts:

• The Toronto Star: "In Panama, ex gang members lead tourists through what was once the toughest parts of town. Montenegro and the other Fortaleza members wish us well, having succeeded in showing us how the promise of hope is changing their world."
• United Hemispheres: Entrepreneurs In The Hood: Samuel Palacio is dripping wet, and not only because of Panama City’s oppressive midmorning heat. Today is the day he launches his new business, a pedal-powered mobile minimart called Delivery del Casco, and there is a lot at stake.
• A Short Film by Pablo Garcia Saldana: Pablo felt passionate about contributing his time and talents in the form of a video. “I built and started to prove the 10,000 hour challenge; the number of  hours of practice needed to acquire mastery of a skill. But the experiment became more than just a goal, it became a way of life, a part of me.”

3. Our First True Fundraiser

As a non-profit organization in a country inconsistent with government funding, we are constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to financially support our work. In the same way Esperanza is not your everyday charity, our first fundraiser was rather unconventional as well.

The "Mar A Mesa (or Sea to Plate) Challenge" saw two celebrity chefs fly in from Spain to pair up with two Esperanza graduates in two days of sportfishing and food prep. The result? A gorgeous dinner hosted at the renowned Maito restaurant in downtown Panama City, where supporters enjoyed not just "socially conscious" food and cocktails, but a special sense of community: a common belief in solving things a different way. Click for PHOTOS...

We may repeat this frequently, but it's really important to know: Esperanza is incredibly appreciative of your support, as are the graduates themselves. They know that Esperanza is not a government program. That it is supported by hundreds of people who want them to succeed.

This makes a big difference to them -- because something like this has never been done before -- as it does to our leadership and our volunteers.

Links:

• Esperanza's New Website

It may be just past the mid-year point, but we already have a lot to report. 

Most importantly, Esperanza has completed Phase I of our five year plan!  As you might recall, we intially set out with four goals:

1. Demobilize the three gangs operating in San Felipe, Casco Viejo (Intervention)

2. Provide their former members with real opportunities to integrate into formal society (Integration)

3. Create a lasting prevention capability with the most promising graduates to prevent the next generation from becoming gang involved (Prevention)

4. Systematizing Esperanza's methodology so that it can be replicated (Replication)

In April we completed the intervention with the third and final gang operating in San Felipe (Las Terazzas)  and in June we received the Monitoring and Evaluation report from Vitalitas Consulting and the results strongly indicate that, with completion of this third and final group, Esperanza has succeeded in its first goal and completed Phase I.

Determining whether a gang is operating as a gang or not is as much art as it is science. To do this, we use a diagnostic took created by Vitalitas Consulting that asks key questions of the participants, the surrounding community and the police before and after each intervention regarding their perceptions of safety and gang activity. The survey also looks at quantitative and qualitative factors surrounding the individual participants' behaviours as well as those of the entire group.  

Again, the results at the community and group levels were impressive. In just six months the percentage of residents and police who answered "yes" to the question of whether a gang was operating on the street decreased by over 50%, indicating a major improvement in community perception following the program.

At an individual level, we look to see whether certain worrisome behaviors have decreased (we call them risk factors) and other positive behaviours have increased (protection factors).

One of the most important protection factors is formal employment. Eighty percent of the graduates of the third group either obtained formal employment or started their own businesses. Other important protection factors such as social capital (the measurement of an individual's personal network) and participation in community activities increased, while key risk factors showed significant declines, such as arrests and victimization. (The full Vitalitas report is attached.)

All of these are good signs, but in reality, they are just the beginning. Changing indiviual behavours to the point where former gang members can permanantly integrate into formal society isn't quick or easy. The Vitalitas survey is a snap shot of a moment in time, but we know that without extensive ongoing support, all of those changes can be lost quickly. (In fact, a number of the last group lost their jobs following the Vitalitas survey and are now working with Esperanza's counselors to get back in the saddle). 

The total cost of the first phase was approximately $160,000. It may sound like a lot, but when you consider that incarceration of the graduates for even one year would have cost at least twice that amount it begins to look like a bargain!

With the ex members of the three former San Felipe gangs now focused on changing their lives for the better, we turn to Experanza's second phase (Integration), which is ensuring that the former members gains are permanant and they don't revert back to old habits. We don't expect this to be quick or easy, but it is critical to make sure the program's gains are permanent. The main goals are:

• Formalizing the graduates businesses so that they qualify for credit and can begin moving into formal housing
• Completing a "restorative justice" process so that the remaining tensions among individuals are resolved to prevent future problems
• Working with the Panamanian government to remove the graduates from the national gang database so that they are not stigmatized

Phase II will take us 18 months and will have a cost of approximately $125,000. In some ways it's going to be the least visible work we do. How do you get donors excited about someone keeping a job, not doing drugs or not getting arrested? But the honest truth is that no matter how good an eight week gang intervention program is, without serious follow-up by trained counselers and social workers, change won't last long. 

As always, we are deeply appreciative of your support, as are the graduates themselves. They know that Esperanza is not a government program. That it is supported by hundreds of people who want them to succeed makes a big difference to them, as it does to us. 

• Vitalitas Report Group 3 (PDF)