By Dorothy K. LaMantia | Correspondent

It was a different kind of lesson for the seventh and eighth grade students of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Asbury Park. On Feb. 20, the classes attended an assembly intended to teach them to make good choices in the face of spreading gang influence.

The program was conducted by the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office Department of Correction Gang Intelligence Unit, which oversees the Monmouth County Correctional Institute in Freehold where 150 gang members – many of them from Asbury Park – are incarcerated. The program is part of the unit’s mission to raise the awareness in schools, the private sector and among law enforcement officials  on how gangs operate in and impact the community. 

Amanda Faulhaber, counselor at OLMC, initiated the program for the students who are nearing  high school age.

“Lots of our kids will attend the public high school.  Now in a class with 25 students, they’ll be going to schools with hundreds.  We need to show them what’s out there, what the consequences of their decisions will be,” she said. “In our schools we have the control to provide for their safety and to get kids ready for what’s ahead.”

The Our Lady of Mount Carmel students expect to attend either Neptune or Asbury Park High School.  Approximately 10 students of Neptune High School’s gang prevention club came to have a look at the program.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, accompanied by members of the Gang Intelligence Unit, and Shaheed Curry, a reformed gang member from Asbury Park, presented a 90-minute program which showed the realities of life as a gang member, in contrast to the glamorous perspective gang recruiters use to lure new members.

“There is so much gang activity in Asbury Park, and their school is a block away from gang territory. These kids know who the local gang members are,” said Gang Unit member Carlos Pineiro. “That’s why we customized the program to help them make good choices.”

“Gang members suck kids in with promises of jewelry, sneakers, hot cars, and money.  We show them the three real paths that lie ahead:  injuries, jail or death,” said Pineiro.

The unit displayed jumpsuits worn by jail inmates, photographs of gang-related injuries to make their points, culminating in the arrival of a gurney topped with a body bag.

The presence of Shaheed Curry, a 31-year old ex-member of the Bloods, left the greatest impression.  Arrested 72 times and incarcerated for over eight years, Curry told his story, including the killing of his sister by gang members in retaliation for something he had done. 

Now Curry is trying to rebuild his life and passionately working to prevent children from joining gangs.  Because he valued gang affiliation more than his schooling, Curry did not read until age 21.  “Stay in school” is the other message he promotes.

“Kids are still talking about it, according to Amanda Faulhaber,” said Officer Pineiro.  “Shaheed Curry impressed them.  They look at the unit and think, ‘They’re just cops with badges.  They’re supposed to tell us not to join gangs.’  Shaheed makes a difference.”

Seventh grader Yasir Muhammad found the assembly to be “informative and helped us become aware… I feel more prepared for what might happen in high school.”

“I didn’t know how they bribe you to join a gang, but it’s not good…how they tell you that you’ll get money, but you really won’t. Or they’ll try to have you kill someone,” he said.

Classmate Devon Phillips was equally impressed to learn about the shallow promises made by the gang members.  “I learned that they will use you until you die or they’re done with you. Or you wind up in jail. So I learned it was important to make good choices.”

Phillips admired Curry for revealing his truth of gang affiliation.  “I thought he was inspiring to share that, so we don’t make the same mistakes,” she said.