■ Do not hang out with people who are in gangs or accept gang members as your friends.

■ Make new friends who are not gang members.

■ Involve yourself with extracurricular school activities, church activities, sports, or other interests that help you make new friends and keep you out of trouble.

■ Say "NO, thanks," to any activity with gang membership, even a date or a party.

■ Know your neighborhood, your community, your school surroundings, especially when and where gangs are known to hang out. And, stay away from any place or neighborhood that is known to be a gang territory.

■ Avoid gossip about gangs. What you say, even if you didn’t mean it, may get back to a gang member.

■ Refuse to go along and if pressured to join a gang, talk to your parents, school counselor, coach or other trusted adult. By refusing to go along, you take some power away from the gang.

■ If you want a change to avoid gangs, talk to your parents about moving to a different neighborhood or school and tell them the reason.