{
  "id": 3285922,
  "title": "The ex-gang member breaking the cycle of violence among LA youths",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/the-ex-gang-member-breaking-the-cycle-of-violence-among-la-youths",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-25T15:00:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Health",
    "slug": "guardian-health",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/25/los-angeles-gangs-youth-gun-violence"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Francisco Villarruel, a former gang member, is working to break the cycle of violence among young people in Los Angeles. Villarruel and Gustavo Galvez, a 19-year-old, began training together at a boxing gym. For Villarruel, the lessons were about giving Galvez an outlet and a mentor he could relate to, as they both shared traumatic experiences growing up surrounded by gangs. According to state data, thousands of Hispanic people in California are injured by guns each year, and last year, half of the state's 1,374 homicide victims were Hispanic. Villarruel works with organizations to help people reintegrate into society after being released from prison and has become a trusted figure for those affected by gang violence. He emphasizes the importance of addressing intergenerational trauma, which can be passed down through communities facing economic distress and systemic neglect. Villarruel's own life was shaped by gun violence, with his father even defending their bakery during the Watts rebellion in 1965. He himself encountered a gun at age nine and joined a gang as a teenager before serving 17 years in prison for various crimes. Now, Villarruel uses therapy and social work to confront his own trauma and help others break free from the cycle of violence.",
  "summary": "‘A child isn’t born to commit gun violence,’ Francisco Villarruel says Francisco Villarruel and Gustavo Galvez sat in a park in Los Angeles reminiscing on their first boxing lesson together. They had gone to a big commercial gym, where they took turns hitting boxing pads and doing footwork exercises. They then started regularly training together. For Villarruel, 40, working out together wasn’t…",
  "key_points": [
    "Former gang member Francisco Villarruel works to break violence cycle among LA youths.",
    "Trained 19-year-old Gustavo Galvez at boxing gym, providing mentorship and outlet.",
    "Addresses intergenerational trauma from economic distress and systemic neglect."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "The ex-gang member breaking the cycle of violence among LA youths",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/the-ex-gang-member-breaking-the-cycle-of-violence-among-la-youths-3291403",
        "published": "2026-08-25T15:00:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}