Get involved with local outreach and prevention programs to connect with at-risk youths in your area. Young people typically join gangs between the ages of 13 and 15, so you may want to focus on kids in this age range and younger. Early intervention usually has the best results.  Despite common stereotypes, girls join gangs in large numbers, too. Avoid focusing all of your efforts on young males. You can also communicate with kids already involved in gang activity through these channels. Talk to them about the reasons why they feel pressured to join a gang and encourage them to speak freely. Allow the kids to communicate both the frustrations and positive aspects of their lives in order to build a caring, sustainable relationship with them.  Remain non-judgmental, encouraging, and supportive when they share personal details with you. Common reasons for gang involvement include financial stability, sense of support and belonging, peer status, and belief that they'll be protected if they join. After establishing trust, you can help them form realistic and attainable personal, educational, and career goals outside of gang involvement. Push them to think outside of and beyond their current lifestyle to show them the positive potential they have.  Ask them questions like, "Where do you want to be when you grow up?" and "What steps do you think will get you there?" Academic success and positive connections related to that success have shown encouraging results. If your community doesn't have an early intervention program for at-risk youth, create one yourself. Focus on creating an environment for positive recreation that provides youth with the tools needed to learn interpersonal skills, such as conflict resolution.  Programs should have classes or get-togethers specifically for parents and teachers of disruptive youth that want to learn how to manage them effectively.  Intervention programs give at-risk youth a non-judgmental environment to learn adaptive skills and provide them with a sense of community. In some cases, professional help is necessary to deal with gang activity. Specialists devote their careers to developing relationships with gang members and leaders in order to mediate violence. If the situation is very serious or feels beyond your control, consider reaching out to a gang specialist.  Gang specialists do not undermine gang members or leaders. They are not anti-gang—they are anti-violence. Although gang specialists support anyone's decision to leave the life, they do not try and talk members out of the lifestyle. They play a neutral role that focuses on harm reduction. A lot of gang activity among younger age groups now starts online, especially when it comes to trading insults and sparking violence that later plays out in the streets. Find local community groups and support networks for gang-affiliated youth and provide their contact information to people you believe would benefit from it.  For example, you could send young gang members links for programs such as GRASP (Gang Rescue and Support Project) or the Youth at Risk Development Program (YARD). Even if your efforts don't work or are met with hostility, take it in stride and continue your efforts.

Summary: Speak with at-risk children or teenagers about gang activity. Establish a sense of trust with at-risk youths. Encourage the kids to create positive goals for themselves. Create an early intervention program for at-risk youth. Connect young gang members with specialists for additional help. Look for signs of gang affiliation on social media channels.


This could be withdraws in large amounts from her bank accounts or consistently large amounts being withdrawn from her bank accounts. You may also notice ATM withdraws from her account which could not have been authorized by the person, especially if she is bedridden. You should also be wary of large payments made to charity organizations that appear suspicious or dubious, as well as payments for items the person would have no use for or do not appear to have in their possession. These actions could indicate that the person is being scammed by a fake charity organization or giving a donation to a charity under false pretenses. Someone may also be using the person’s credit cards or debit card to pay for items for themselves, a clear indication of financial abuse. Sudden changes to the person’s will or to her power of attorney should be regarded with suspicion, especially if the change benefits someone who is not known to her family or who appears to be taking advantage of her. You should consult the person’s lawyer to determine why the person decided to adjust her will and confirm that it was done when the person was of sound mind and body. If the person has stacks of unpaid or overdue bills and expenses that are usually paid on time every month, this may be a sign that someone is diverting their money for their own benefit. This could then cause the person to miss payments and perhaps be unaware she is missing payments, especially if she is bedridden or on medication. You should compare the person’s bank statements to the overdue bills or expenses to confirm that money came out of the person’s bank account, but it did not go to pay the bills. It likely instead went right into the pocket of the person who is financially abusing the elderly person. Neglectful caretakers may steal valuable items for their clients and sell them for money to pay off debt or to support an alcohol or drug habit. Note if the elderly person is missing jewellery, art, or silverware, as well as any other items of high value. This could be a gradual issue, where items disappear over time, or a sudden theft, where all the items are taken at once.

Summary: Look for any suspicious activity in the person’s bank accounts. Take note if the person changes her will or power of attorney. Check if the person has overdue bills or expenses. Pay attention to any missing items of value.


Cheese must be "cold smoked," to prevent melting. This is easiest to accomplish if the air temperature is no higher than 60 °F (16 °C), even with the methods we'll use to keep temperatures low. If you do try this on a warm day, start with a small batch to minimize mess and lost cheese from melting. The store-bought cold smoker method is best for warm days. Any cheese can be smoked, unless it is so soft it will fall through the grate. Gouda, cheddar, and Gruyère are all common options. For fully smoked cheese, use pieces no larger than 4" x 4" by 2" (10cm x 10cm x 5cm), so the smoke can penetrate through the entire piece of cheese. If you prefer cheese with a smoky rind and soft interior, use larger pieces. Unwrap your cheese and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator the next day and leave it until it reaches room temperature. This will cause some moisture to evaporate, making it easier to develop the smoky rind. Wipe off moisture from the cheese surface using a paper towel. There's some disagreement among cheese-smokers over this step. Some people prefer to keep the cheese chilled or even frozen before smoking. Others dislike the texture changes that come with freezing, and may even prefer the convenience of skipping the refrigeration step and just leaving the cheese out at room temperature for one or two hours. You can purchase a "cold smoker" attachment or adapter for your hot smoker, or a standalone cold smoker. These range in cost from about $35 to well over $100. However, once the cold smoker is set up, smoking is simple and risk of melting the cheese is low.  Some cold smoker attachments are small, low-heat devices with special wood dust fuel. These can be placed at the bottom of the hot smoker, and used as directed. Other cold smoker attachments are additional compartments that attach to your hot smoker. If not created by the same company, you may need to attach the two together yourself. Some models only require a drill, nut, and bolt to achieve this, but find out before you buy. Either way, once you set the cold smoker up, cook the cheese over wood chips or wood pellets for 1–6 hours, turning at least once, then remove and refrigerate for 1–4 weeks before eating. See the "hot smoker" section for more tips. Continue on to one of the sections below, depending on the tools you have available:  There are two ways to MacGyver an ordinary (hot) smoker or closable grill to make your own cold smoker. You can use a pan of ice, or you can build your own mini smoke source from a tin can. Both are described in the "hot smoker" section. If you do not have any type of smoker or grill and do not want to buy one, you can attempt to smoke the cheese in a spare refrigerator over a hot plate. This can be a successful smoker, but is difficult to control and requires extra attention to fire safety.
Summary: Wait for a cool day. Cut a cheese of your choice. Dry the cheese and bring to room temperature. Consider buying a cold smoker. Alternatively, make your own cold smoker.