Gang Violence In Canada's Youth Gangs

Gang violence in America is a huge problem but Canada’s gang population has become a strong issue with the tremendous amount of groups they have reached. A youth gang is an association including various amounts of people who are a part of criminal activity and who have created a group identity. These groups usually are formed in places that have people facing disadvantages and inequality within their community. Gangs deal with a high usage of drugs, weapons and violence. Youth gangs have become a huge issue and include people between the ages of twelve and thirty years old. The violence they portray is in result of how they have been treated when they face inequality in their communities in which they then come together and form this gang …show more content…
Many children are placed in foster homes and group homes and the number of children is growing compared to the children in schools. They are facing cultural loss and have dealt with abuse or just a poor environment and housing. They also face substance abuse by their parents and a reason they join these gangs is because since growing up in their house and not really having a family this is a way to replace those issues and make it feel as if this is their family and to gain love and acknowledgment from …show more content…
There has been a lot of drug overdoses and suicides. They are committing huge crimes and most of them form a self hatred and this can lead them to slashing or burning themselves and or just abusing a drug. A gang leader named Paul mentioned he has gone through a large amount of stress being involved in a gang he had been shot eight times and became a cocaine IV drug user. When Paul left the gang he tried to find a job and it is almost impossible because he has about forty convictions. Paul became this violent gang member for many reasons one being seeing his father go in and out of jail and never being able to see his mom and also being raped by a family member which made him angry, this supports what I said earlier about how dealing with issues like this as a child can make one join a gang. Youth gangs perform these acts of violence for revenge or even just to keep their reputation. Usually they are just killing or harming other members of other gangs and it is unlikely they would kill someone who isn 't in a gang but it does occur sometimes. In some cases these gang members will have family members or friends who are involved in other gangs which means they are killing and fighting each