Hearts and Hands focuses on healing through community building.
Empowered by thirty years of experience with gangs in Los Angeles and
Chicago, Rodríguez offers a unique book of change. He makes concrete
suggestions, shows how we can create nonviolent opportunities for youth
today, and redirects kids into productive and satisfying lives. And he
warns that we sacrifice community values for material gain when we
incarcerate or marginalize people already on the edge of society. His
drive to dissolve gang influence on kids is as personal as it is
societal; his son, to whom he dedicates Hearts and Hands, served more
than a decade in prison for gang-related activity. With anecdotes,
interviews, and time-tested guidelines, Hearts and Hands makes a
powerful argument for building and supporting community life.