One set of numbers he considers pertinent shows that if a student fails one class, the youth has a 60 percent chance of graduating. If the student fails two classes, the chance of graduating drops to 30 percent. The statistics make a difference to Kennedy because many of the 1,000 students CIS works with in Hidalgo County schools have been held back for a year or two. Other factors include the high incidence of sexual and physical abuse, alcoholism, broken families and prostitution that typically influence the upbringing of at-risk children in impoverished neighborhoods. La Paloma was once a feared place filled with violent gangs in the 1950s.
Some residents point to improvements in the neighborhood, although some old problems persist.
Some experts say the problems of gangs have gone beyond working-class neighborhoods. They are seeing the children of middle class and wealthy families drifting into gang activities. The components of the problem are multifaceted and complicated. Despite the complexity, many governmental and nongovernmental organizations are trying to help. They were killed by members of a gang from the La Paloma neighborhood.