The Fight Back Youth Committee members gather around a table inside a meeting room at the Barrios Unidos Park on September 22 and vent their frustrations. They are parents in a community controlled by kids. Unlike those who turn a blind eye to their children's activities, Sylvia is willing to crack the whip. Gloria Moreno says she's worried about the degradation of community parks. She says from her window she can see addicts taking drugs and having sex inside the jungle gym.
Little ones play there when there are needles in the sand.
That's very dangerous. Alex Munguia, one of the few males to attend the Fight Back meetings, has grown up in the neighborhood and works in the evenings at the Barrios Unidos Park. He has regular contact with youth, many of whom already are convicts who are earning community service hours by working at the park. That's a tough sell when many of the adults in the community have descended into a vortex of drugs, alcohol and domestic violence. Richard Martinez, a mental health specialist with Southwest Human Development, also works with Munguia at the park.