ARISE Foundation’s appeal for stories about gang life results in submissions from around the world

June 22, 2009 - PRLog -- Everyone loves a good story. Tell someone a great tale, and you grab their attention. This is especially true for young people. You can explain how hard life in a gang can be, and hope they pay attention through the lecture. Or, you can show them through an engaging, interesting story.

All of the ARISE books have several stories that relate to the curricula, from tales of teen pregnancy and the lives of high school dropouts to humorous anecdotes about personal hygiene. The stories enhance the curricula and teach valuable, memorable life skills lessons.

The gang prevention material is among the most sought-after in the extensive ARISE library. The new book, set for release this summer, features 50 unforgettable stories written for young people. The stories are fresh, original and compelling. Instead of simply telling someone not to join a gang, show them why by letting him read a story about a day in the life of a prison inmate or shooting victim. The gang book will mirror one of our most popular titles, 31 of Taneka’s Urban Life Tales, which is also a collection of compelling stories for teens. Unlike Taneka’s Tales, which features a wide variety of content, including drug and alcohol abuse and STD awareness, the new book will focus solely on gang life and its pitfalls. The stories paint a picture of how gang life infects not just those in the gang, but their families. When you join a gang, you drag everyone you love into it with you. What is life like when someone you care about is in a gang? These stories answer that question in vivid, gripping detail.

For over 20 years, ARISE has operated as a developer and publisher of Life Management Skills curricula and staff training programs. Designed to reach at-risk, incarcerated youth in detention centers and secure facilities and on probation, ARISE is also utilized as a powerful prevention tool for teenagers and young adults.  ARISE programs consist of interactive group discussions and activities designed to break the ice quickly and grab the attention of even the most turned-off participants..  

In its home state of Florida, ARISE was utilized for decades in the Miami-Dade School system. ARISE has forged a strong partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). ARISE programs have been changing the lives of juvenile offenders in the Florida juvenile justice system since 1996. Its dynamic programs are currently being taught in 74 DJJ facilities across the state, as well as the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs and alternative schools.

ARISE programs are also used in over 100 organizations in the District of Columbia, including public and charter schools, the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Metropolitan Police, the District of Columbia jail and the D.C. Superior Court Probation Department.

A 2007 study by Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland showed that the cost of one offender with at least six police contacts from childhood to age 32 is $3,172,998. In other words, rescuing one youth from a life of crime saves taxpayers more than $3 million dollars.

Since ARISE was established over two decades ago, it has trained and certified  5,284 Group Facilitators who have taught over 4,011,242 documented hours of ARISE life-skills lessons across the United States. ARISE is also being used in Canada, Jamaica, England, Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Kingdom of Bahrain. ARISE curricula are presently being translated into Kazakh, Russian. Requests for translations have also come in from as far away as Pakistan and South Africa.

For more information, or to schedule a training, please call Yasmin Isaacs toll free:  1 (888) 680-6100 or visit ariselife-skills.org.