Boys and girls are joining a new gang, but their parents aren't complaining. In fact, some of them are joining, too.
The new gang is Troop 285 H.E.L.P. of the Boy Scouts. It will enlist children from homeless families who live in a shelter run by Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged at Morris Avenue and 171st Streets.
"We are trying to provide youngsters with stability, even if they move away," said Schonna Green, who directs recreation programs at the shelter, and who will serve as troopmaster.
But last week, as children prepared to register for the troop, they weren't thinking stability:
"We're going to have fun," said one boy.
"We also teach you discipline" and cooperation, said Joe Geathers, a 36-year-old father and army veteran now living in the H.E.L.P. shelter, who will lead a den of Cub Scouts.
Patting two boys on the back, he said: "We take care of our own. You cover him, and he covers you."
No matter what the adults' motives, the children were excited about what lay ahead, even if their notion of the Scouts was a bit fuzzy.
"Is a slingshot easier to use than a shotgun? Because a shotgun you have to reload, but a slingshot, you just have to go like that," said Ian Martinez, pulling his right arm back to demonstrate.
"You don't have to worry about that," Geathers responded. "I really want to take you guys onto Bear Mountain and go on campouts."
He was answered by a round of reverent "Yeahs!"
"We're going to have tents and put our sleeping bags on the ground," said Geathers.
Junior O'Casio, 11, asked: "Can I get my own tent?"
Amused, Geathers said: "You have to share with other people."
H.E.L.P. is offering a Cub Scout, a Boy Scout and a co-ed Explorer Program for teenagers. Many of the children are new to the whole idea of scouting, one of the reasons that H.E.L.P. decided to start the program. A few of the children, however, are veterans.
Jamison Maye, 8, was a Cub Scout in North Carolina. "You get to go camping," he said. "You get to draw pictures, you get to make a fire, and you get to put your food on a stick and put it over a fire."
For one of Jamison's inexperienced peers, the lure of the great outdoors was exciting.
"I'll learn how to survive by foraging for food," said Dennis "The Menace" Cruz, 14. "Living out here is nothing compared to the woods. The woods is wild."
Of course, in the minds of some, there are other, equally appealing advantages. Sure, said Junior, he wants to learn discipline and self-respect. But the biggest draw?
Said Junior: "You learn how to survive-- and meet girls."