Robert L.Woodson Sr.

In the following viewpoint, Robert L. Woodson Sr. argues that community-based programs are more effective than national strategies in solving youth violence. Woodson contends that the people who lead these grassroots efforts earn the trust and respect of young people and show youths how to serve their families and communities. Strategies that focus on incarceration backfire, he maintains, because prisons actually breed further violence. Woodson is the president and founder of the Washington, D.C.-based National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Woodson, what are “wolf pack” attacks"

2. How many Americans are in gangs, according to the author"

3. What is the “bridge program,” as described by Woodson"

During the summer of 1983, the city of Philadelphia was paralyzed...