Summary

37-year-old Jose Garcia is from El Salvador and now works as a cook and substance abuse counselor in the state of Washington. His testimony is titled “In That Neighborhood If You’re Not Part of a Gang, You’re Going to Suffer.” Jose remembers how his peaceful childhood was disrupted by civil war. When Jose was 13 years old, his aunt convinced him to go to the United States. He crossed the border covertly and went to Los Angeles. In L.A., he went to school sometimes and worked for different fast food places; one of his managers forced him to have sex with him. At 14 he got involved in marijuana and eventually a gang.

In prison, he began taking classes in electronics, substance abuse counseling, and culinary arts. When he was 30 years old, he quit drugs. He began work as a...