MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Community Coalition will host a forum on gangs and gang prevention in the Moses Lake Civic Center and City Hall from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, featuring a panel of local experts and subsequent community discussion.

The forum is titled “Gangs of Moses Lake: A Community Conversation,” and the event will also be available to watch and participate in via Zoom webinar at bit.ly/MLCCTownHall. Entry both in-person and online is free.

Community Coalition Coordinator Megan Watson explained the purpose behind the forum.

“The event is set up with hopes to educate and inform, but also provide a space for discussion,” she said. “So we'll open with a series of panelist experts, and then in between each presenter there is an opportunity for community members to ask questions, just to kind of help us gauge where their interest is lying.”

There is no registration or sign-up required for the event; community members can simply show up or tune in online and participate in the conversation.

“The whole final portion of the event is basically going to be an encouragement of actual discussion for some back and forth and conversation between attendees, panelists and everyone that's present,” she said. “So (we’re) hoping to keep it a little more conversational than just coming and listening to these people talk and that’s it.”

Questions and comments can be submitted anonymously during the event, Watson said.

“I know some people are a little hesitant to be super vocal and nobody wants to stand out too much; it can make people uncomfortable,” she said. “We're going to be using Mentimeter (software) … you type in our presentation, the identifier number, and for the question that's on the slide, you can anonymously submit. Anyone can; anyone present, anyone on Zoom. It'll just come up on the screen and we'll address it.”

Community engagement and awareness are key goals for the event, Watson said.

“One of our primary goals when we were designing what the event should look like, is we want community members to walk out of that room with a solid understanding of something that they can do that would be impactful as far as gang prevention and substance use prevention goes,” she said. 

Local organizations will also be attending the event.

“We're going to talk about different organizations that will be present, like Boys and Girls Club, Youth Dynamics, Latino Civic Alliance,” Watson said. “We’ll have a call to action sheet so that attendees can pretty much look at the sheet and sort of check off, ‘Yeah, I'd like to get more involved with that organization,’ so we can help make that direct connect. And then also, we've got a section on here where they can just give us their ideas.”

Recovery coach Nokey Pando will be the forum’s master of ceremonies alongside five panelists.

“Speaking first that evening will be Corporal Omar Ramirez. He's the lead detective for the Moses Lake Police Department's street crimes unit,” Watson said. “He's going to be talking about the current landscape of Moses Lake gangs right now. That's his area of expertise.”

Following Ramirez will be former gang member and current recovery coach Victor Estrada. 

“His (gang) affiliation dates all the way back to the '80s, so he's going to be sharing with us from his personal experiences and just what he's learned throughout his life,” Watson said. “Now he works with juveniles and adults that are incarcerated. So he's coming from the perspective of somebody who's kind of come out on the other side and is giving back.”

Dilsia Gonzalez and David Gonzalez, case managers with nonprofit Latino Civic Alliance, will speak next, Watson said. 

“Latino Civic Alliance has an (“I Am Jaguar”) program, which is basically case management for individuals that might be associated with or affiliated with or are members of gangs,” Watson said. “So we're going to hear from them about the services that they offer to these kids and what that case management looks like.”

Last to share will be Forge Youth Mentoring Central Washington Director Dora Patchen.

“She's going to talk all about the substantial impact that one-on-one mentoring has on a young person,” Watson said. “They have seen a lot of positive results within the schools when a child gets connected with a mentor.”

Coalition Executive Chairperson Matt Paluch will be guiding the conversation following the panelists.

Watson said every year the town hall is focused on a new topic.

“Our coalition is guided by the community,” she said. “So it's always going to be something that people feel like is a current concern and relevant.”

Watson said the annual town hall events began a few years ago, with a focus on spreading awareness and getting the community involved.

“There are just a whole host of things that a community can do that are preventative, preventative for gangs, and preventative for substance use,” Watson said. “We're primarily a substance use prevention coalition, but if we can understand prevention and put a lot of these principles in place then you're looking at affecting things like teen pregnancy and violence. I mean, there are so many things that are cross-sectional, it can really only be beneficial.”

Moses Lake Community Coalition Town Hall on gangs

Moses Lake Civic Center and City Hall
401 S. Balsam St., Moses Lake
June 6, 7-9 p.m.
Online: http://bit.ly/MLCCTownHall

    Megan Watson
  

    Nokey Pando