Watts Gang Task Force

In 2005, the Los Angeles community of Watts was devastated by the senseless violence that claimed several lives in the wake of a gang war in the Jordan Downs and Nickerson Gardens public housing developments. Weary residents and community leaders partnered that December to create the Watts Gang Task Force Council — now known as the Watts Gang Task Force (WGTF) — and within two years, violent crime in the neighborhood declined 50 percent.

At the heart of this success are WGTF's intervention strategies and activities that offer children and young adults exercise and engagement outlets as well as a structured post-incarceration re-entry program. The organization also provides families with essential resources centered on education and health-related needs. The Watts Gang Task Force is helping to create not only a safer community but a self-reliant one through support for economic development.