THROGGS NECK – LA FAMIGLIA, INC. ~ ANTI-GANG & ANTI-BULLYING SPECIALISTS
Mission Statement - Our mission is to educate and empower school-aged youth with the social and life skills along with relevant information necessary to gain control of their lives, disavow bullying and gang activity and to become positive and productive role models in their schools and communities. We are also concerned with educating families and the community with vital skills necessary to identify bullying and gang affiliations and potential gang recruits.
Vision Statement - Restoring lives; restoring families; restoring hope.
Throggs Neck - La Famiglia (TNLF) is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization which concentrates on wiping out gang activities in schools and communities. TNLF was started by Christian Claudio, an ex-convict and ex-gang member. Christian grew up in the Spanish Harlem section of Manhattan and in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. He began selling drugs in his teenage years, was affiliated with organized crime and soon became a leader of a drug enterprise. That life came to an end, while he was in his 20s, when he was convicted of drug and various violent felony offenses and sentenced to serve 37 years in a NY state prison. Unfortunately, his incarceration did not end his criminal mindset. While on Rikers Island he proliferated the Latin Kings gang. That gang, composed of Hispanics, came to dominate the violent activities in Rikers Island during the 1990s and in the New York State correctional facilities. Fortunately, Christian recognized the error of his ways and renounced the Latin Kings gang and all other gang activity. He was even released from prison after serving only 15 years.
Christian Claudio founded Throggs Neck - La Famiglia with the hopes of stamping out bullying and gang activity by not only focusing on bullies and gang members, but by concentrating on the hotbeds of gang formation - the public school system, etc. TNLF strongly believes that gang influence and affiliation starts way before youth are actually involved with gangs. It starts when kids are in school and they start emulating older kids who are in gangs and start assimilating gang ideas, language, clothing styles and personas. TNLF combats these ideas by actually going into schools and speaking to them in an auditorium setting, workshops and in one-on-one settings. The kids are warned of the dangers of bullying and gang activity, crime, drugs and violence. TNLF also designs follow up programs and workshops to meet the needs of the troubled students in the schools visited. In conjunction, TNLF also conducts forums and community workshops on gang awareness to inform the parents and community members about gangs, gang membership, warning signs and those youth who are most susceptible to gang recruitment.
The members and presenters of TNLF are men and women who are ex-convicts and former gang members & bullies themselves, but who have since left prison and become productive members of society. Their goal is to give back to the community and reach out to our youth. They use their life experiences as examples of what to do and not to do. They dont just bring a book knowledge about gang intervention and social perspectives of troubled youth, but have experienced a lot of the same dramas and trials that todays youth are facing. They also expose the lies and consequences of living a criminal lifestyle as a gang member and/or bully.