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Breaking Through the Exit Door: An Exploratory Study of Youth Gang Desistence in B.C.
Lead Researcher: Steve Dooley
This study explores factors that explain how youth exit from their gangs. It will include extensive interviews with ex-gang members who have not had any gang involvement for a long period of time. Those who have successfully made the transition out of gang life will tell us how they managed the exit process. The study aims to produce information that will be useful to service providers who develop and implement early intervention programs for at-risk youth.
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Community Voices
Lead Researcher: Steve Dooley
During each year of the project, six focus groups made up of eight participants each are being conducted with community members including youth, parents, teachers, service providers and community stakeholders. To supplement the focus group data, 15 individual interviews are being conducted with youth, parents, teachers, service providers and community leaders each year.
These community reflections:
- give ongoing voice to community members.
- reveal current community beliefs.
- reveal opportunities for education and information sharing.
- suggest additional revisions to the proposed research.
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Youth Experiences of Cultural Alienation
Lead Researcher: Indira Prahst
AT-CURA is engaged in a qualitative research project which examines the relationship between gangs and alienation. The project explores how the effects of alienation might make youth more vulnerable to gang recruitment and how youth may deal with feelings of dislocation and disconnectedness by joining gangs.
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Youth-to-Youth Violence Project
Lead Researcher: Judy Lee
Following the successful completion of the Youth-to-Youth violence project at BC Children’s Hospital in 2009, the goal of the present study is to conduct a similar project for Fraser Health Authority (FHA). Interviews and focus groups are conducted for Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) emergency social workers and FHA youth clinic nurses who come into contact with youth and their families encountering youth violence. The study has been conducted in collaboration with the FHA, Kwantlen, and AT-CURA.
The outcomes of the focus groups conversations will be discussed by the members from the participating institutions FHA, BCCH, and Kwantlen, to update resources for emergency social workers and youth clinic nurses dealing with youth-to-youth violence in their professional practice.