From Gangs To Santa Land: Ex-gang Members Cheer Up Old Neighborhood

From gangs to Santa land: Ex-gang members cheer up old neighborhood Express-News Copyright 2012 Express-News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 12:03 am, Sunday, December 23, 2012 After delivering the Carrillos' gifts, the men said a prayer for the babies and single mother, who doesn't have a job but is getting her GED and trying to get ahead. Carrillo's basket overflowed with toys, large bars of chocolate, brie cheese, a turkey and other holiday staples and $355 in gift cards. The men, many former gang members, were drafted during the Vietnam War and served their country far from friends who spent years in prison or who died violent early deaths. [...] fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, the men formed a club of sorts with 18 members to help families who come from the same streets as they did. Caldera said the group members hope their acts will ignite similar generosity among former gang members in other parts of the city. From 1962 to 1968, the men roamed turf that ran north and south from Saltillo to Guadalupe streets and from Hamilton and Barkley streets — an area where young men were automatically in the gang just by virtue of living in the area. The first wave of youth gangs burst on the scene in the 1950s and, according to a federal probation report, by the end of that decade, gang warfare accounted for up to six fatalities per month in San Antonio. The gang members often scrapped in front of St.