Former Anti-Gang Worker Remembered

Former Anti-Gang Worker Remembered

 

In Providence yesterday, staff of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence and members of the community remembered Streetworker David Cartagena on at a cookout at St. Michael’s Church.

Cartagena worked at the Institute as a nonviolence trainer and a Streetworker from 2005 until his death in 2009.  He was enrolled as a case management program at Rhode Island College’s School of Social Work.  He is remembered in part as a former gang member who turned his life around and dedicated himself to the cause of nonviolence. “In recent years, he was recognized by law enforcement and community organizations as a skilled mediator and valuable partner,” said Teny Gross, Executive Director of the Institute. 

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“David was an exceptional youth worker and an excellent human being.  He had only begun to make his impact on the community he loved to serve.  As his Institute family, we hope his impact will continue to be felt for a long time to come.  We will not soon recover from the heartbreak of this tragedy,” said Gross.