The early 1990s in San Antonio was marked by gang violence.
The city became known as the “Drive-By Capital of Texas,” with over 1,200 drive-bys reported in 1993 alone.
The new book, “Homeboys Forever: The Lifetime Consequences of Gang Membership,” follows how violence, addiction, and imprisonment affected the lives of young men on San Antonio’s Westside.
Author and sociologist Avelardo Valdez met with adolescents in the gang scene from 1995-1998 and later followed up with them from 2009-2012. Many of the men started as young delinquents and later drifted into a life of crime.
Avelardo, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, said the book follows along with life-long impacts gang participation had on the young men, from health to economic mobility.
“The kind of violent experiences that they were involved in or that they witnessed begins to affect them as they age. (Also) the impact of substance use,” he said. “In the end of their lives, they have serious comorbid physical conditions. The only serious healthcare these men actually receive is when they’re incarcerated.”
Gangs proliferated on the city’s historic Westside, known as one of the most economically disadvantaged areas of San Antonio.
Valdez said many of the young men who chose to join street gangs were victims of social disparity and were pushed to do so out of necessity.
“That is what this book captures,” Avelardo said. “Much of what happened with them is not so much about the choices that they make, but more about the circumstances and the institutions that structure those choices.”
