The criminal justice system is full of people who made the wrong decisions.
The Orange County Gang Reduction & Intervention Partnership (GRIP) program helps kids make the right decisions – and succeed in life instead of giving into the temptations of gangs and drugs.
Here at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, we love a good success story – and after a childhood spent sleeping on the floor of a San Clemente apartment with five brothers and sisters, 22-year-old Sam Perez, the son of a gardener and a hotel maid who worked around the clock to provide for their six children, realized his dream of becoming a wildland firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority.
Perez sits down with Orange County Deputy District Attorney Caroline Smith to talk about how GRIP program helped him achieve his dreams – and continues to empower kids aged 8-13 through family-focused programs in at-risk schools. Partnering with 200 organizations across 62 schools in 13 cities, the GRIP Program has reached thousands of children with community-driven initiatives.
Congratulations Sam on your success with OCFA – and for continuing to inspire future generations of GRIP students that their dreams – whatever they may be – are within reach through hard work, dedication, and perseverance!
How an Orange County District Attorney program has helped some kids get on the right path
After a childhood spent sleeping on the floor of a San Clemente apartment with five brothers and sisters, 22-year-old Sam Perez, the son of a gardener and a hotel maid who worked around the clock to provide for their six children, realized his dream of becoming a wildland firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority.
Ten-year-old Alex Luna and his three sisters became orphans after their father passed away from COVID and then a few months later their mother died from complications from a stroke. The fifth grader from Orange wants to be an astronaut and go to the moon – a dream fitting for a little boy whose last name that means moon in Spanish.
A powerful mentoring program for children through the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in partnership with local police departments and the County’s Sheriff’s and Probation Department, the Orange County Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership is helping young people like Alex and Sam shoot for the stars – and the moon – instead of turning to gangs and a life of crime.
The OC GRIP program is in schools in Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Tustin, Westminster, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, and unincorporated areas of North Orange County.
KCAL Channel 2/9 recently featured Sam and Alex along with OC GRIP mentor and Orange County District Attorney Investigator Jose Flores, showing viewers the powerful lifetime impact mentors have on children who are at a crossroads in their life.
OCDA Investigator Flores was one of those kids, who escaped a domestic violence situation along with his mother and sister, who ended up sleeping under a school lunch table. A police officer saved him – and steered him away from gangs and into law enforcement. Now he’s working to save as many children as he can – including 10-year-old Alex who says he and Investigator Flores are inseparable.
Mentorship matters.
ABOUT OC GRIP
The award-winning Orange County Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP) is a law enforcement partnership that identifies students who need extra support and aims to increase school attendance and decrease gang activity.
Cities
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has formed OC GRIP and GRIP II committees and partnerships with the police departments from the Cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Tustin, Westminster and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, and the unincorporated areas of North Orange County and the Orange County Probation Department.
Awards
OC GRIP has received the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership Award, the and California State Association of Counties Challenge Merit Award, and the California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award for working with 42 schools on gang suppression, interventions for students who need extra support, gang information forums, and parent/ faculty education.
Angels Incentive
Students identified by OC GRIP as being high-risk for gang exposure and activity are challenged to complete the school year with improved attendance and grades, no suspensions, and involvement in positive after-school activities.
The end reward is attending a Los Angeles Angels (Angels) game as a VIP guest. The Angels donate 1,400 tickets each year in support of the anti-gang efforts.
Parent Greeter Program
More than 1,500 parents have teamed up with law enforcement to form an anti-gang Parent Greeter Program at over 40 Orange County elementary and middle schools, resulting in a sizable decrease in gang presence and graffiti.
This program empowers parents to take responsibility for their schools by proactively taking a stand against gang crime. Parents volunteer as ‘parent greeters’ at their child’s school and become involved in neighborhood watch programs in their community.